Believe
by midnightmich
Summary: "What do you want from me?" I choked out the hand around my throat tightening. Red devilish eyes smiled down on me evilly. "You." The spirit whispered into my ear before throwing me across the gym. I cried out in pain as my body broke through several chairs. "No one will save you, not even your precious Guardians." The spirit laughed as tears ran down my eyes. "Jack please help me"
1. The Beginning

Believe

**I have gotten into Rise of the Guardians and while I haven't read the books, I still feel the need to write my own story. It seems that I can never NOT write a story. Sorry but I must write what comes to me.**

**Thanks to MisLG for beta-ing my chapter! Seriously the best beta I could ask for! :)  
**

**Summary: Stephanie Jones was an orphan at the age of 6 and she really didn't believe in fairy tales. However, one night after the death of her parents, she met one of the most secluded spirits of all times. The Boogieman. After that encounter, she began to see all kinds of spirits, even through her teenage years. Her continued connection to these spirits throughout her life caused her to be an outcast in many places. At the age of seventeen she unwillingly gets involved in the fight against the Boogieman but there's something more to the fight, something more sinister behind all of it. And what scares her the most, is that she's the key to all of it.**

**Talking; "**What the hell Jack?!"

**Thoughts:**_"This can't be real right?"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Rise of the Guardians or its story plot. I do own my OC Stephanie.**

* * *

**Stephanie's POV**

"Jack I'm scared." I sobbed, clinging tightly to the winter spirit as he held me up in the air, thousands of feet above ground. I heard him grunt as he tried to dodge another nightmare horse, but got knocked in the shoulder. I frantically looked around to see if I could find help but the rest of the guardians were too busy fighting Pitch's minions to even get near us. Not to mention that they were furiously trying to protect Sophie, Jaime, and his friends.

"Don't worry we'll be fine. I promise." Jack whispered through clenched teeth, as he quickly flew up to avoid another nightmare attack. Above us, I heard a sinister chuckle echoing around us before Pitch materialized out of thin air and smirked at us.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Jack" Pitched laughed as Jack used his right arm to point his wooden staff at the dark spirit. Before Jack could even try to attack, Pitch disappeared and the black sand from earlier suddenly began speeding towards the unsuspecting children below.

"Jamie! Sophie!" I cried as I saw Pitch heading straight towards them. "The guardians—"

"Won't make it time." Jack wearily finished, as we saw the rest of the guardians try to make their way closer to the two endangered kids.

"But you can." I said softly as I looked up at Jack's shocked face. "It's ok Jack, the kids are more important." I gave him a weak smile as I loosened my grip on his hand. Jack scrunched his face in frustration before giving me a determined look.

"I'll always come back for you." Jack swore as he looked straight into my eyes. I gave him a small chuckle as tears glittered on my cheeks.

"I know." I whispered. "I believe in you." without another word, Jack threw me high into the air before speeding straight after Pitch, staff at the ready.

_I believe you'll save me._ I thought as I slowly started to fall. _And I believe you'll save us all._ I screamed helplessly as I sped towards Earth; while I believed Jack would save me, that didn't mean that I wouldn't be scared of dying.

* * *

_**Three Days before Easter: Stephanie's POV**_

"Heads up!" A familiar voice cried as I walked down the snow filled sidewalk before a snowball pelted the back of my head. Turning around, I playfully glared at my attacker. "What? I told you heads up."

"Cause a sneak attack is so fair." I laughed before dropping my stuff and grabbing a hand full of snow before shaping it into a sphere. "Take that!" I said smiling as I threw the snow ball. Taking a side-step he dodged my attack before conjuring another snowball to throw at my face.

"Nice try, I'll give you an A for effort." he chuckled while the snow ball disintegrated as it landed on my face.

"Whatever! If you didn't have your-"

"Hey look it's the freak!" A snarky girl sneered filling me up with dread. It was none other than the drama queen\ prom queen of my school, Victoria Salazar. "Talking to our imaginary boyfriend? You do realize you have to bring REAL boys to prom right?" She laughed mockingly.

"Shut up Victoria, go do your make-up or something, or are you really that intent on making my life miserable? Because if that's so, then you honestly have no life." I scoffed rather weakly. I was never really good with comebacks. Victoria rolled her eyes before flipping her waist length black hair.

"I don't have to answer you loser—what the…?! Who threw that?!" Victoria screeched as a snow ball landed on her face, ruining the thick layer of make-up she wore. I smirked as I looked behind me to see the guilty party whistling innocently, but looking rather mischievous.

"Thanks." I said as Victoria stomped off to fix her make-up before anyone saw her. "I didn't think she would leave me alone. I swear it's her life goal to make my life as miserable as possible." I sighed as I looked at a nearby car's window reflection to make sure I dusted the rest of the snow off my face.

"She had it coming." My defender shrugged as he picked up a pile of snow before shaping it into another snowball. "No one makes fun of my friends."

"I'm your only friend Jack Frost." I smiled rolling my eyes playfully, "Ever since I saw you when I was like 7." Jack smiled fondly as I picked up my folder I had dropped previously and walked onwards.

"Yeah considering you're the only person who sees me." Jack suddenly said quiet depressingly. I gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry Jack, one day other kids will believe in you and you'll have new friends." I stopped in front of him and gave him a large foxy smile "So much friends that you'll eventually forget about little old me."

"That will never happen, the part where I forget you" He hastily added as he swiped the sidewalk with his magical staff causing a thin covering of frost to appear. "You're too awesome to forget."

"Thanks, at least one person thinks so." I sighed as I finally reached the entrance to my high school. It was our last day of school before we left for Easter break, just three days away and many of the kids had decided to leave with their families, leaving probably only about 200 kids in the school. Enough kids to torment me. "See you after school Jack," I whispered under my breath as I passed several students.

"Don't let them push you around alright?! I'll be back as soon as I can!" Jack called out before he jumped high into the air and a huge gust of wind quickly took him to his destination. Many kids complained as papers flew out of their hands or messed up their hair and I could hear Jack laughing at their misfortune as I entered the school.

_I really wish he could stay with me at school._ I thought as I made my way towards my locker. _Then school wouldn't be so bad—  
_  
"Look out everyone Stephanie Freak Jones is in the building." A bulky blonde football player laughed along with his buddies.

"Is the Easter Bunny next to me? Or better yet is the Boogieman standing right behind us?" Another player sneered as his buddies laughed at his 'jokes' I said nothing as I gathered my stuff from my locker and tried to leave but four other people from the football team blocked my way, forcing me to turn around and face my tormenter.

"Dawson, Drew will you two leave me alone?" I muttered as I tried to walk past the group only to be blocked yet again. They looked down on me with cold and sneering eyes and as I tried to walk back, but the other football members quickly cut off my only exit.

"Not until we have some fun"

Hello my name is Stephanie Jones and I'm seventeen years old with short choppy black hair and icy blue eyes and my life...it's never been simple. My mom and dad died in a car accident when I was five and my grandparents had died the year before so I was sent to an orphanage. You would have thought with my cute facial features a family would take me home but I was different from other kids.

At a young age, my parents really didn't encourage me to believe in fairy tales such as Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. so I never thought much of them. When they died, my faith in them faded into nothingness as I realized I had to grow up if I wanted to survive in the orphanage and I always got angry at the kids who happily told tales of the tooth fairy visiting them or something of the sort. However, that changed one night when I had a nightmare, a nightmare so dark that I woke up in a cold sweat but for some reason I never cried. That's probably what lured him to me, the Boogieman. I met him that night as I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't and what a surprise it was, to the both of us.

Apparently for a long time, no one could see him but me. When he told me he was the Boogieman I really didn't believe him. I mean he was a childhood fairy tale right? Yet, I could still see him, which was unheard of since he said only kids who believed could see him or other spirits. We talked for a while before he left and after that night nothing was ever the same.

From then on I could see people, animals, and creatures that weren't really supposed to exists according to adults. I saw the tooth fairy, well her minions, on multiple occasions when children at the orphanage lost their baby teeth, the Easter Bunny when we all went Easter egg hunting in the spring, Santa Claus during Christmas and finally The Sandman, when everyone went to sleep who I never even knew existed. Of course when I told the adults this they merely laughed and told me that if I didn't eat my vegetables he or she wouldn't visit me. Normal right? Well it got to the point where I began talking to the spirits. What could I say? I was lonely at the orphanage most of the time. Only the minor ones like the Boogieman and a boy who called himself Jack Frost and every spirit that people talked about that kids didn't really believe in would stop and chat with me. However, I was the only one who was able to see them despite still being skeptical of their existence.

So when people tried to adopt me, they would always come and find me conversing with my "imaginary" friends and think it was a cute childhood habit before taking me home. They always thought I would outgrow it but as they realized that I would not stop, they gave me back. No one wanted an insane child. This went on for several years and the adults at the orphanage soon began thinking I was crazy as I grew older and still talked about fairytales. Not that it was my fault! I was lonely and had no one to talk to and the spirits had no one else to talk to so they would always come to me. What was I suppose to do? Turn them away?

Eventually this lead me to become an outcast among my peers as they grew out of the "I believe in the Easter bunny etc." stage and I really didn't since I saw them on a day to day basis. Kids saw me as the freak when they caught me talking to the spirits and it only got worse in High school since the city was small and almost every kid knew about me. They make sure my life is a living hell and there's really nothing I can do about it.

"I hate Fridays" I groaned as I stumbled down the stairs rubbing my arm where Victoria punched and pinned me. Girls were always the vicious ones, at least the boys didn't physically hurt me, although they always take my stuff and ruin it. "Teachers don't give a shit today and let everything slide. Damn Victoria for taking advantage of it."

"Feeling a bit down are we?" Jack's voice whispered behind me sending a chill down my neck before I turned around and gave him a hug.

"Not anymore now that you're here." I smiled as the both of us took a deserted street to go home so no one would see me talking to nothing. "Anything exciting?" Jack just jumped ahead of me before gliding back frowning.

"Just the usual, I gave the younger kids a snow day-"

"Hey what about us?" I laughed as I punched him playfully on the shoulder trying to make him smile, "We older kids want a snow day too."

"You were in class already." Jack chuckled as he swung his wooden staff around "So I helped out the younger ones."

"You owe me then." I smiled as we neared the orphanage, "I want to do something fun with you-"

"Are you free now?" The white haired boy asked suddenly as he floated slightly off the ground in front of me "Cause I have an idea. You still have your ice skates right?"

"Yeah, they're in my room. Why?"

"Because today I'm going to show you THE awesomest ice rink you've ever seen." He smiled as he grabbed onto my gloved hand, I learned it's better to wear gloves around Jack otherwise when he holds your bare hand he can accidentally give you frostbite.

"Whoa hold on." I cried as I tried to pull my hand away from Jack. "Me and ice skates are a no-no. Not since that field trip to the ice rink last year where I nearly broke my ankle." Jack merely turned around and gave me a smirk.

"That's because Jack Frost didn't teach you how to ice skate personally." I raised one of my eyebrows at him.

"Oh really now? How am I supposed to learn ice skating from a person who doesn't even wear skates, let alone shoes." I remarked as I pointed to his bare feet that despite not wearing shoes at all still looked pale and undisturbed by the cold weather.

"You forget I'm THE Jack Frost." Jack laughed rather cockily. "I know ice better than anyone."

"Yeah I know that but do you even ice skate—"

"It's just like walking, trust me." Jack interrupted as we finally reached the orphanage. "Now get your skates, I'll be waiting in your room to make sure you do." Jack smiled as he jumped up to the second floor to the third window on the left where my room was. I just chuckled before entering the orphanage.

"Hello Stephanie," one of the care takers called out as I passed her. "How was your day?"

"The usual." I sighed as I grabbed an apple off the counter. "Got teased by kids and then got teased by more kids." The caretaker merely gave me a sad smile.

"Don't worry hun', it'll get better I promise you." I bit into the apple and said nothing because I knew in my mind it was never going to get better unless I moved to a place where no one knows of my background.

"Anyways, I'm going out. Gonna go and ice skate in the woods." I shouted to her as the younger kids began yelling from the other room. "I'll be back by—"

"Actually, the Bennett's have asked you to babysit their children today at seven." The caretaker interrupted as she pulled two shouting kids apart and sent them to their rooms. "You don't mind right? You like their family correct? They said you can even sleep over because they need you until Easter." I smiled at the mention of the Bennett's and couldn't help but nod. Ever since last year I had to get a job in order to pay for some school stuff because the orphanage couldn't pay for me anymore if I still wanted to live there. So I started my own babysitting business and the Bennett's became the number one customer and I didn't mind them at all. Jamie was a little angel sent from heaven and Sophie was just plain adorable and the best part, was that they loved it when I told them stories of fairytales.

"Yeah, I'll just take my stuff so I won't bother you." I smiled as I began walking up the steps.

"Have you found a place yet though?" The caretaker suddenly asked, causing a sinking feeling in my stomach. "You're time here is almost up and I would hate to see you homeless—"

"It's fine don't worry." I quickly said waving her off and giving her a fake smile. "I'm already looking into a place. There's nothing to worry about." Before she could get in another word, I quickly ran into my room where Jack was waiting….as patiently as he could.

"What took you so long?" he asked as he floated around my room making it at least five degrees colder and frosting some of my possessions.

"Just saying hi to my caretaker. And also I need to take my stuff; I'm babysitting the Bennett's until Easter." I smiled as I grabbed my bag of clothing and my second hand skates. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going."

"Wait, I heard you talking about getting a place." Jack said as he floated in front of the door blocking my exit. "Are you leaving? I thought you said you don't leave the orphanage until you're eighteen. You're seventeen right?" Jack asked worryingly.

_He can't know the truth, he can't know that you haven't found a place. And most of all he can't know that you'll be kicked out in a couple months._ I thought to myself as I remembered my dire situation.

It was a couple weeks ago when one of the caretakers came up to me and the rest of the older kids at the orphanage. She told all of us that the orphanage wasn't doing so well and that they couldn't afford to keep the older kids here any longer. We had the potential to get a job and pay rent so we were the best candidates to actually survive in the streets.

Many had already moved out after finding jobs that also provided board but I was one of the few who were having trouble. Sure I had a job but it wasn't really steady. If I had a good month of babysitting then I could pay rent for an apartment, but recently the demand for babysitting had gone down so drastically that I don't think I could pay rent with babysitting alone. My situation was getting grimmer by the day but I didn't want Jack to know. He already had enough to worry about.

"Jack relax it's fine." I gave him a fake smile as I tried to hide the dread creeping behind it. "It's just that the orphanage can't afford to have older kids living here while they have to pay for the younger ones. I mean I have a steady job…babysitting is enough for me to pay rent at a really cheap apartment. It's fine really, nothing you need to worry about. Now come on let's get skating before I have to babysit." I laughed as I pushed Jack out of the way and ran down the stairs.

"Stephanie where you going?" One of the kids at the orphanage asked as she stepped outside her room. I kneeled down to her level and ruffled her brown curls playfully. She giggled happily.

"Well, Lizzy I'm going to go ice skating outside for a while and then I have to go and babysit some other kids. I won't be back until Easter though." Lizzy coughed for a moment—breaking my heart a bit as I remembered she had a very bad case of tuberculosis—before she smiled brightly at me.

"When I get better can I go with you?"

"Of course! Now stay warm. I hear it's going to be very cold tonight—"

"Cause Jack Frost is visiting right?" She excitingly exclaimed, jumping around for a bit before starting another coughing fit. "You said that right?!" Right from the corner of my eye I saw Jack's eyes widen a bit as he heard Lizzy call out his name.

"Of course! Now go and get dinner before everyone else does." I smiled as she ran down stairs giggling.

"You told her about me?" Jack asked softly as he landed right beside me.

"If course I did, I even told them about the other spirits as well. But…" I sighed deeply before continuing, "Not all of them believe in the other spirits even though they sound like they do." I looked at Jack a bit sadly before walking down the rest of the stairs and waving goodbye to the other kids before opening the door letting in the chilly afternoon winter wind.

"Why not?" Jack asked as he floated right beside me.

"It's hard to see the good when you're surrounded by despair and the Orphanage doesn't have enough money to get all the kids what they want and they can't take them to Easter Egg hunts as often either. Kids soon stop believing in them because in the orphanage you kind of have to grow up otherwise you might not survive." I sighed once again before turning around and smiling at Jack.

"Well enough of this depressing talk, where's this "Awesome" ice rink you speak so highly of Mr. Frost?"

"Well, my dear lady." Jack chuckled as he played along, "If you follow me then I'll show you."

* * *

"Hey, this is your 'home' right?" I huffed as I finally exited the forest and entered a frozen pond surrounded by rocks and trees covered in heavy packs of snow. Probably Jack's doing but what really hit me was how familiar this place was despite not being here ever.

"Yes it is ma'am. Now," Jack began as he landed right in front of me smirking, "I believe it's time for you to put your ice skates on and the lessons shall begin." I sighed as I dropped my bag unceremoniously near the edge of the frozen pond and began taking off my shoes to replace them with my skates.

"Are you sure the ice is thick enough?" I asked as I laced up my skates. "I really don't fancy a swim this time of the season."

"Relax," Jack smiled as he flew towards me, smiling. "I'm here so you don't have to worry about falling in. Now get on the ice." Jack laughed as he pulled me off the banks of the pond and right onto the ice. I gave out a small scream as I was pulled away from the safety of solid ground and now stood on an iced pond that could give in any second. "Now place your right foot in front of your left foot—" before I could even take a step, I fell rather heavily on the ice.

"You're laughing at my pathetic attempts aren't you?" I growled as I saw Jack trying to hold in his laughter.

"Maybe, but let's just try again shall we?" Jack smiled as he lent me a hand.

"Great."

After two hours of falling and somewhat skating the sun began setting over the mountains and it was sadly time to go.

"Alright, I have to call it a day." I huffed as I came to a stop in the middle of the large frozen pond with several skate marks now freshly imprinted on it. "I need to head over to the Bennett's."

"Aw we were just getting the hang of it." Jack chuckled as he floated behind me and gently pushed me towards the edge of the pond. I scoffed as I tried to keep balance.

"Oh yes, if getting the hang of it actually involves falling on your ass at least 50% of the time and the other 49% on your face and the 1% actually skating. Then yes, I was getting the hang of it."

"Well, since you are so sure you are getting the hang of it, why don't we have one last spin?" Jack smirked mischievously as he grabbed my arm and quickly spun me around before I could even voice a protest. I could hear Jack laughing above me as I lost balance and fell on the icy surface rather hard. I glared at him harshly as I finally got over my wave of dizziness and shouted out to him,

"Jack! You asshole, when I get my hands on you I'm going to—"

"**CRACK"**

The sound quickly silenced the both of us as I quickly looked down at frozen surface to see cracks quickly appearing underneath me as my weight began weakening the surface. None of us moved for a moment as the crack suddenly stopped spreading, scared that a sudden movement would be my downfall.

"Jack." I whispered as I tried to stay still as possible only to have several more cracks appear underneath me. "Jack…help." I shouted as more cracks appeared and I hastily tried to get up and run, only succeeding in making more cracks. As I fell for another time, I felt the floor beneath me crumble and heard Jack screaming my name before I felt the icy water piercing through my clothing and penetrating my skin.

I immediately held my breath as I felt the cold water seep through my jeans but due to the shock of the cold water, I let out a gasp and as I went under, I didn't really have enough air in my lungs. I felt myself slowly being dragged under by the weight of my clothes as I tried desperately to swim up.

_So cold_ I wearily thought as I felt lightheaded and slowly stopped trying to swim upwards. _How come this feels familiar though?_ I thoughts as images flashed quickly before my eyes.

Someone who looked like Jack only with brown hair and eyes was standing in the middle of the pond looking just like the one we were at. Two girls stood nearby, a small brown haired girl shaking as cracks appeared underneath her while the other—older and more closer to the look alike Jack's age—black haired girl was reaching out to the small girl. Eventually the Jack look alike managed to save the small girl but inadvertently switched places with her and he fell into the frigid water instead, as the ice could no longer support the weight. The girl with black hair quickly rushed to the small hole, grabbing a wooden staff and reaching to the boy all the while yelling at the other girl. Most likely telling her to get help. The little girl left as the black haired girl managed to grab a hold of the lookalike and slowly pulled him up. However, just as she was about to pull him to safety the ice cracked even more and both fell back into the dark lake just as the little girl arrived with more help.

_What was that? Who was that and why did I see that? Aren't I supposed to see my future flash before my eyes instead of the..er.. past? No matter,_ I choked as I could no longer hold my breath and breathed in icy water, stinging my throat and lungs. _I'm a dead man anyways, I hope Jack doesn't blame himself…it wasn't….wasn't….his…..fault._ Before my eyes could close I felt something wrap around my wrist and pulled me roughly upwards. Before I knew it, I was no longer swimming and I could finally breathe in air, once I coughed out the water from my lungs.

"Stephanie! Stephanie!" I heard Jack cry as I continued to cough out the water from my lungs in order to breathe in. "Are you alright?!"

"C-co-ld" I coughed out as I felt the chilly winds brush against my already cold and wet clothes.

"Damn it! I can't—I can't warm you up." Jack growled in frustration as he hovered near me since he would probably make me even colder. "I could barely save you from the pond! I had to use some old rope to save you! If I had gone down myself I probably would have frozen you to death! How am I supposed to get you help?!"

"B—be—enn—etts" I shivered out as I furiously tried to warm myself up. "N-nee-d t-t-oo g-g-get t-t-h-her-re" my teeth clattered rapidly against each other as I tried to move myself away from the pond but I was rather unsuccessful.

"Stephanie! Just wait here, I'll get some help—"

"H-how?" I asked I continued to crawl over to my bag hoping that I had brought a towel and a blanket this time. "N-no o-n-ne s-s-sees yo-u." Jack stayed silent as I continued to crawl slowly towards my bag and to my relief there was a towel and blanket in there. "I j-j-ust n-need to g-g-e-t to t-the Ben-n-nett's now. T-they c-can h-help me."

"What can I do?" Jack asked worryingly as he landed next to me just as I was taking off my skates—replacing them with shoes—and wrapping the towel and blanket around me tightly.

"M-make su-re I don't f-fall asle-e-ep." I chattered as I forced myself to stand and slowly began moving towards the city. I took only two steps before I fell to the ground shivering uncontrollably.

"Stephanie!" Jack cried as he landed next to me, his image becoming blurry as I suddenly felt sleepy. "Stephanie wake up!"

"In…a….minute." I muttered as I wrapped myself tightly in the blanket and towel. "I'm…tired."

"Stephanie! Stephanie! Stephanie—" Jack's voice seemed to be getting deeper and slower as my mind began shutting itself down, dangerous in this weather but I really couldn't help myself. I was on my own, well not really but Jack couldn't do much to help me.

"In….a….min….ute." I whispered as I closed my eye and let the darkness take over my mind. However, before I passed out, I heard a sinister chuckle sounding eerily familiar but before I could wonder who it belonged too, I was suddenly falling from the sky and black tendrils of sand spun around me and for the longest time, I felt scared.

"NO!" I screamed as I shot up from the warm bed, panting heavily. My eyes quickly darted around the room trying to find anything out of the ordinary but came up empty. Calming myself down, I looked out the window and replayed the events before I fell asleep.

I did in fact go ice skating with Jack and the ice did crack but instead of falling like in my dream, Jack had quickly swooped down and carried me out of harm's way. I went to the Bennett's after that since I was too shaken up to continue. It was seven by the time I made it the Bennett's household and both of Jamie's parents went out to dinner as I arrived leaving me with the two children after greeting me and showing me to my room.

"I played with them and told them stories about Jack and the rest of the spirits and it was bedtime before I knew it and I sent them to bed and—"

"You went to sleep rather quickly." A smooth yet mocking voice said from the corner of the room. I looked up and golden eyes pierced mine as a familiar spirit came out of the shadows, smirking. "I would have thought you would stay up until at least 11. Getting tired now are we?" I gave him a small smile.

"Nice to see you too Pitch. Having fun giving kids nightmares? Wait were you the one who gave me that nightmare? I thought you only gave them to children." I asked aloud as Pitch stepped closer to me. Pitch merely chuckled as he waved his hand and conjured up a steady stream of black sand. My eyes widened as I recalled the sand from my nightmare.

"Well, I thought I would give my…favorite….believer a visit." He smirked as the sand transformed into a rather terrifying horse even though it couldn't have been bigger than my hand. "It's more fun to destroy the sweet dreams of older children even though the terrified faces of children having nightmares are just as welcoming." Pitch smiled crookedly at me showing his pointed teeth.

"That's new." I muttered as the horse trotted towards me and a feeling of fear came along with it. "I thought you only had power over shadows*."

"Yes well…we all grow Stephanie." Pitch laughed as he waved his hand once more and the horse immediately flew towards him. "Some for the better." He growled out lowly. I gave him a distasteful glance; for some reason even though Pitch still had the same frightening demeanor when I met him when I was six, there was something…off about him. Something more evil.

"Are you alright Pitch?" I asked suddenly catching him off guard for a moment. "I mean…you don't sound like you—"

"It's been years since we last properly talked to each other Stephanie." Pitch suddenly spat out, glaring at me. "Of course I would sound different to you—"

"No not that I mean…" I paused for a moment trying to find the right words to say "You sound crueler than usual and the black sand it just reeks of—"

"Fear—"

"No, I was going for evil but it does have a lot of fear in it too." I sighed as I rubbed my head. "It's just…it's not you Pitch and that worries me—"

"So you prefer the weaker and unbelieved in Pitch Black instead?" Pitch snarled at me causing the room to darken considerably even though the light from the street lamp outside provided considerable illumination.

"I never said anything like that." I replied trying to stay calm as a feeling of dread washed over me. "I just said that this new you worries me a bit."

_You feel tainted for some reason. And who ever could taint fear is something to be frightened of._ I thought as Pitch continued to glare harshly at me.

"Well, no matter." Pitch suddenly remarked, standing tall and looked down at me. "Your opinion will no longer matter, not after a couple of days."

"A couple days? What do you mean?" I asked worryingly. "Pitch what's going on—"

"We'll meet again soon Stephanie." Pitch hissed as he slowly retreated back to the shadows his golden eyes only visible, "But not on the same side."

"PITCH WAIT!" I called out to the fearful spirit before his golden eyes disappeared as well, signaling that he had left the room. "Pitch…" I called out softly worried for the dark spirit "Be safe…please."

* * *

"LOOK STEPH LOOK! IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT IT SNOWED LAST NIGHT!" Jamie cried happily, rushing into my room and startling me as I was finishing changing. "Oops sorry." Jamie apologized as he saw my raised eyebrow.

"Next time knock alright, I might not be finished changing." I laughed as I ruffled his hair. "And yes, I saw. Looks like Jack Frost visited us last night." I muttered, smiling as I saw Jack flying around outside the house smiling at me.

"Mom wants us to eat breakfast together." Jamie spoke up ripping my attention away from the snow spirit. "And then she said we can go sledding together!" Jamie laughed as he jumped up and down in happiness.

"Alright alright." I chuckled as I grabbed my coat and gloves. I was already wearing several layers of clothing. I wore a black three quarters sleeve shirt with a grey tee shirt over it. Over those two layers of clothing I wore a red, almost overall type clothing. It stopped beneath my breasts and the suspenders crisscrossed at the back. I wore dark blue jeans with black snow shoes. "Let's go get some breakfast then." I gently pushed Jamie out of the room and followed him. Before I left the room however, I grabbed a grey beanie and placed it on my head, letting it cover the back of my head and leaving some strands in the front. This had been my mother's before she died and I hardly went anywhere without it.

"Snow day!" Jamie laughed as he ran out of the house with his red sleigh in his hands. "Come on Steph! We gotta meet up with my friends!"

"Coming!" I laughed as I looked back at Jamie's mother who held Sophie. Sophie smiled at me, her uneven cut blond hair covering her right eye—apparently Jamie had tried to trim it for her—and I gave her a smile back. "Don't worry Mrs. Bennett, I'll make sure no harm comes to Jamie." The woman merely smiled at me.

"You have yet to let me down Stephanie. I'm sure you won't this time."

"Bye mom! We'll be back by lunch time!" Jamie called out as he pulled me away eager to spend the day with his friends.

"Bye honey, play safe!"

_Play safe?_ I chuckled in my head as I saw Jack floating besides us, ready to have some fun. _With Jack around, playing safe is not an option._

* * *

"Did you see me?! I was like woosh and then I turned right before a truck hit me and then I went flying!" Jamie excitedly shouted, waving his arms around to exaggerate his story. "And then my tooth! It came out when a couch hit me!"

"Yes, I saw all that." I chuckled as we walked back towards the Bennett's house, "Nearly scared me half to death. I thought you were going to hit some cars." I gave a small glare to Jack as he floated right next to me not seen by Jamie

"Hey, at least he didn't get killed." Jack laughed in his defense, "I may play a little dangerous but I'm not going to let that kill a kid."

"Thanks for saving him though." I whispered giving him a small smile which he returned.

"Thanks who?" Jamie asked as he heard my sentence. I gave him a pat on his head—he was wearing a hat today—and smiled brightly.

"Well, Jack Frost. He's the winter spirit so he must have steered you out of harm's way. Who else could have silly." Jamie gave me a childish glare before laughing.

"So he's real?"

"Of course!" I smiled happily, "Who do you think gave us this awesome snow day? And who do you think nips your nose on a cold winter day?" I laughed as I poked his nose lightly. "Now let's get some lunch. All that snowball fighting and nearly having a heart attack does make one rather hungry." And to prove my point, my stomach growled loudly.

"Last one back is a rotten egg!" Jamie laughed as he pushed my back before running towards the direction of his house.

"Cheater!" I laughed, glaring lightly at Jack who laughed as well, before running after Jamie. "And you stop laughing at my misery."

"What," Jack chuckled as he flew alongside me as I ran. "It's not every day I get to see you beaten by a kid." I merely stuck my tongue out at him before screaming in shock as Jack threw a snowball at me. "We're under attack! Run Jamie run!" I laughed as Jack threw more snow balls at us. For the rest of the run home, Jamie and I constantly ran from the barrage of snowballs before we finally made it to the safety of the Bennett's household.

"That was awesome!" Jamie panted as he fell onto the snow smiling happily. "Best snow day ever."

"You can say that again. God, how do you kids have the energy?" I gasped as I tried to catch my breath but smiled nonetheless. "I'm sure we'll have another one tomorrow. It's going to be Easter after all."

"EASTER! We'll get to see the Easter Bunny right?!" Jamie sat up excitedly before asking in a small voice, "You'll come Easter Egg hunting with us right? You promised us last Easter." I sighed before giving him a small smile.

"I can't exactly promise you anything, I have to help out the kids in the Orphanage that day. But, I will do everything in my power to have an Easter Egg hunt with you guys, alright?" Jamie smiled brightly at me, nodding happily. "Good. Now let's get inside, it's starting to get chilly."

"Wait Stephanie, I got to talk with you." Jack suddenly shouted as I saw him standing on the fence. I gave him a small nod before turning to Jamie.

"You go on ahead, I um need to do something. I'll be there in a bit alright."

"Kay!" I sighed in relief as Jamie ran into the house and left no one to witness my conversation with Jack.

"So what do you need Jack?" I asked as I gave him my full attention.

"Well it's more of an apology," Jack blurted out looking a bit pink in the cheeks. "I didn't mean to put Jamie in any danger, I just wanted him to have some fun and—"

"Relax Jack," I laughed before patting him on the shoulder. "I know you didn't mean any harm. Besides, you did save Jamie in the end so it's cool."

"Oh…so I didn't need to—"

"Nah the apology was still needed." I chuckled as he gave me a light glare. "Especially after the ice pond incident."

"Hey I frosted the ice pretty good before you came, not my fault you were heavy." Jack laughed.

"Whatever." I stuck my tongue out at him before I suddenly remembered my dream's…dream? "Hey Jack, I've been meaning to ask you…do you remember your past life by any chance?" Jack's happy demeanor suddenly went sour as he frowned.

"No…I can't remember anything….why do you ask?" I shrug, not wanting to bring up any more bad memories.

"Nothing I just wanted to know if you remembered anything that's all." The both of us stood there awkwardly for a moment before Jack stood up,

"Well, I have places to bring snow to. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" Jack asked hopefully since he did like spending more time with Jamie since he was a kid.

"Maybe." I smiled softly, "Now go, and stay safe alright?"

"Yes mother." Jack chuckled as the wind suddenly picked up around us and before I knew it, Jack shot up and flew north. I smiled as I saw his figure slowly disappearing in the horizon before turning around and heading into the household.

"What took you so long? We're having mac and cheese!" Jamie cried as I entered the house.

"Mac and cheese, Mac and cheese!" Sophie chanted running around me along with their greyhound Abby.

"Sorry, just having a chat with Jack Frost that's all." I laughed as I put my coat on the coat hanger. "Now let's not tell your mother about the nearly dying by sledding on the road shall we Jamie?"

* * *

"Tell us another story please! Please!" Jamie pleaded as he, Sophie, and Abby sat down in Sophie's bedroom around me waiting for another story.

"I already told you everything about every spirit I know of." I laughed as I hugged a fairy Sophie—who had decided to be a fairy after hearing about my encounter with a tooth fairy— and petted Abby. "Unless you want to hear about the Boogieman!"

"Boogieman, Boogieman!" Sophie squealed "Tell us about the Boogieman!"

"You sure you won't be scared? This story isn't for the faint hearted." I dramatically told the two children who giggled at my theatrics. "Very well, I shall tell you of my first encounter with…the Boogieman!"

"It was just another night at the Orphanage, nothing out of the ordinary. No stormy night, lightning or anything really. You could say it was a night much like this." I smiled as I saw the children flinch a bit, looking out the window before turning their attention back towards me.

"Were you scared when you saw him?" Sophie asked quietly.

"How did you know it was even him?" Jamie asked as well.

"To answer your questions, no I wasn't really scared of him rather I was scared of the nightmare he gave me. And I knew it was him because he told me so Jamie."

"He gives you nightmares?" Jamie asked shocked a bit.

"That's what he does." I muttered looking at the shadows to see if there were any signs of him. "He goes around giving children nightmares causing many kids to fear him."

"What did he make you have a nightmare of?" Sophie quietly asked.

"Well, I have an unbelievable fear of heights so I had a nightmare where I was on top of this very high mountain and there were monsters after me. The only way out was to jump off that cliff." I lied to the children. My nightmare was really a replay of the car accident my parents were in. There wasn't any really reason to tell them that though; although, I really did have a phobia of heights.

"Were you scared?"

"Terrified, so much that I decided to face the monsters instead." I chuckled as I improvised my story, "But the Boogieman still wanted me to fall off the cliff, so it broke apart and I was falling thousands of feet towards the ground to my death." Both kids gasped and I mentally congratulated myself.

"Did you die?" Jamie asked

"No, before I was going to hit the ground I woke up, but I didn't scream." I said recalling the events of that night.

"But weren't you scared?" I nodded. "Then why didn't you scream?" Jamie once again asked.

"I just…didn't….strange I know. My parents used to tell me that I was always a quiet child so maybe that's it." I muttered as I remembered my parents for a while. "Anyways, I woke up and I was furiously looking around the room. It was my first night there so I wasn't really used to the bedroom. It was squeaky, creaky and had a draft. Not exactly the room you'd feel safe in."

"Was he there?" Sophie asked hugging my arm tightly.

"Yeah, he was. He came out of the shadows from my room. His glowing gold eyes were the first thing I saw. Then as he stepped out of the shadows, I saw his whole body. He was pale, ghostly pale and he wore a black coat that reached all the way to his foot. His black hair was slicked back and his teeth glowed as he gave me a threatening smile." I whispered giving them a feral growl to prove my point further. "He stopped right in front of my bed and chuckled. 'Have a nice nightmare?' he asked shocking me a bit. How did he know I had a nightmare? I asked myself. Before I could ask him that though he turned around and began leaving."

"So you never got to talk to him?" Jamie asked sounding a bit disappointed.

"Let me finish my story Jamie," I chuckled as I saw him give me an apologetic glance. "Before he left though I asked him a question, after mustering up the courage to do so. As soon as the last word left my mouth, he suddenly stopped and turned around, his golden eyes widening in shock just a bit. 'You see me?' he asked and I nodded. Apparently it had been a long time since a child had seen him." I told Jamie and Sophie who were holding onto my every word.

"Really!? But why? Wouldn't have more kids have seen him?" Jamie asked

"Well, it's complicated." I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "Tell me, when you tell your parents that you had a nightmare about the Boogieman, what do they tell you?"

"That's he's not real!" Sophie answered giggling. I smiled at her.

"Right, so when kids don't believe in spirits they don't see them." Jamie nodded as if my explanation explained a lot.

"Did you believe in him? Is that why you saw him?"

"In a way yes I did. You see, I don't believe the Boogieman gives kids nightmares just because he wants to—"

"Why?" Sophie asked this time before yawning loudly.

"Because," I chuckled as I picked up a sleepy Sophie and placed her in her bed. "I think he's trying to prepare us. Prepare us for the cruel realities of real life." I sighed as Sophie's eyes closed and her breathing began to slow down. "Sleep tight Sophie."

"What do you mean by that though?" Jamie asked as he stood next to me and looked down at his sleeping sister.

"I mean," I smiled as I picked up Jamie—who laughed at being picked up—and carried him out of the room, Abby following obediently. "If you can't overcome your worst childhood fear then how are you going to survive reality? It's tough when you're an adult so I think that the Boogieman gives us nightmares to help us overcome our fears. After all, if we can overcome our fears then we're ready for anything right?" I chuckled as I opened the door to Jamie's room and placed him on his bed. "Now go to sleep, you guys should have been in bed at least an hour ago."

"But I'm not tired!" Jamie whined "And I want to hear more of the Boogieman!"

"Another day." I smiled as Abby jumped up onto the end of Jamie's bed and curled up. "Besides don't you want the Tooth Fairy to come collect your tooth?" I asked, chuckling at Jamie's face as he realized he still had his tooth. "She can't come if you're awake—"

"Get out of my room Steph! I want to sleep!" Jamie excitedly cried as he placed his teeth underneath his pillow and quickly got underneath the covers.

"Alright alright." I laughed as I turned off the light and closed the door to his room. "Sleep tight." I whispered before retreating to my own room. "Another night to myself," I sighed as I quickly changed into pajamas before getting a couple pieces of paper out and a pencil. "I guess I'll stay up for a while drawing." I smiled as I got to work.

After an hour of doodles I decided to call it a night. After all, I needed to get up early in order to help out the kids at the Orphanage tomorrow. Before I could turn off the lights however, I heard whispering coming from Jamie's room.

_What the…?—is someone in the house?!_ I thought frantically as I looked for a weapon to defend the children with. _They better not be planning to hurt Jamie._ I growled lightly as I found myself a baseball bat and quietly made my way to the door. Suddenly the alarm clock went off and I could hear Abby growling as the sounds from Jamie's room became louder.

"JAMIE!" I cried as I raced towards his room only to trip on the carpet. "Stupid carpet." I growled as I pushed myself up only to hear the noise in Jamie's room quiet down considerably. "JAMIE!" I shouted as I ran to his door and shoved it open only to have my jaw drop in shock.

"What the fuck!?"

* * *

***Even though Pitch's powers do come from black sand, I decided to mix it up a bit in order for it to work in my story. Sorry if this displeases you.**

**And end for now. Not much to go on sorry about that but my story really doesn't take place in Rise of the Guardians plot. Everything good happens much later. So please, if it's not too much please review, it really makes my day.**

-Midnightmich


	2. Bunnymund and Pitch

Believe

**Author's Note: Wow I would have never thought that this story would get so many reviews, likes, favorites and everything! You guys really made my day with this! And I have to thank my awesome beta MisLG since she's probably the only reason why this story is a hit. Thank you guys once again!**

**Thanks for reviewing:**

**Lindyn Guards**

**Storygirl99210**

**TenebrisSagittarius**

**Sky of Flames**

**Your reviews mean so much to me and motivate me to continue writing **

**Talking; "**What the hell Jack?!"

**Thoughts:**_"This can't be real right?"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Rise of the Guardians or its story plot. I do own my OC Stephanie.**

* * *

_Last Time_

_What the…?—is someone in the house?! I thought frantically as I looked for a weapon to defend the children with. They better not be planning to hurt Jamie. I growled lightly as I found myself a baseball bat and quietly made my way to the door. Suddenly the alarm clock went off and I could hear Abby growling as the sounds from Jamie's room became louder._

_"JAMIE!" I cried as I raced towards his room only to trip on the carpet. "Stupid carpet." I grumbled as I pushed myself up, only to hear the noise in Jamie's room quiet down considerably. "JAMIE!" I shouted as I ran to his door and shoved it open only to have my jaw drop in shock._

_"What the fuck!?"_

* * *

_**Stephanie's POV**_

"What the fuck?!" I gasped, as I took in the scene in front of me. "How the hell?" I muttered as I stepped further inside the room to inspect the intruders more closely. Lying on the floor, was none other than the Easter Bunny, along with the Tooth Fairy (the actual Tooth Fairy and her small minion) who were snoring lightly as golden sand figures danced above their heads. On Jamie's bed, lay the famous Santa Claus, snoring loudly away as golden candy canes danced above his head. "Jamie?" I whispered as I looked for the young brunette and smiled as I saw him cuddled near the side of the large jolly man.

_Well, at least he's alright._ I sighed as I dropped the bat and carefully placed Jamie into a more comfortable position. _But what are they doing here? And where's the Sandman? This is obviously his work._ I thought as I looked back at the sand dancing over the spirit's heads before noticing a thin layer of frost covering Jamie's alarm clock.

"Jack was here?" I whispered aloud as I noticed the open window. "What's going on—"

"Steph, Steph, Steph!" Sophie's voice cried as she entered the room, startling me for a moment. "Oooh…Santa!" Sophie giggled happily as she stumbled towards the large snoring figure.

"Sophie what are you doing up?" I asked, abandoning the window sill after taking one last look, and walked over to the blonde-haired child. "You should be in bed."

"I heard noise!" She smiled as she tried climbing the large man only to grab his coat and fall down, and she brought something down with her.

"A snow globe?" I wondered aloud as Sophie grabbed the mysterious ball that fell from Santa's coat. "Why would Santa have a snow globe?"

"Pretty," Sophie gasped in amazement before turning her head to her left and saw the Easter Bunny sleeping soundly. "Bunny! Hop, Hop!"

"Yeah, that's the Easter Bunny," I chuckled as I saw Sophie jump up and down in excitement, "Now let's give that back to Santa and head back to your room ok?" I said as I moved to grab the snow globe out of her hand only for her to trip over the sleeping greyhound. Quickly I rushed to grab the snow globe to stop its fall but I missed it by a couple centimeters and winced as it crashed to the floor.

"Ooh, Pretty!" Sophie laughed as she pushed herself up, the snow globe had suddenly transformed into a "…portal?!" I whispered in awe.

"No freaking way." I muttered as I stared in amazement at the magical item. "Snow globes as magical portals—wait no Sophie!" I cried as I notice her walking towards the portal. "Don't go near—" just as I grabbed her, Sophie reached out towards the portal and before I knew it, I felt a pulling sensation as the both of us left Jamie's room and into…wherever the snow globe was taking us.

_Why couldn't I have a normal night?_ I thought, screaming as Sophie and I flew through a tunnel of colors before landing on a hard surface. _Wait, I can't because I'm not normal myself._

"Whoa, where are we?" I groaned as struggled to stand up. "Sophie…Sophie?" I called out as I suddenly realized that Sophie no longer stood next to me. Spinning around, looking for the blonde girl, I finally took notice of my surroundings. "Wow." I gasped softly as the sunlight rose over the tall trees brightening the area we had fallen. Over to the right, a pond gently flowed down to a river leading to another set of hills were large boulders stood at the edge. Down to the left, flowers of different colors decorated the valley below me, making the whole place scream "SPRING".

"What a beautiful place." I smiled as birds flew past me, chirping happily, "It feels so…peaceful and…hopeful."

"Eggs!" I heard Sophie's laugh echo throughout the valley. Looking down, I saw Sophie chasing several white creatures.

"Sophie!" I cried as I ran down the hill to reach the giggling blonde. "Sophie please come back here! I have no idea where we are and you need to stay with—"

"**CRACK"**

Stopping in mid-step, I looked down at my feet to see what I had stepped on in my hurry. As I lifted my foot, I saw the remains of what looked to be an egg.

"An eggshell?" I wondered aloud as I squatted down to inspect the destroyed egg. "What's an egg doing here of all places?" Before I could even think about it further, a large shadow loomed over me, blocking out the sunlight and for some reason made me very afraid to turn around and see what awaited me.

_It can't be that bad right?_ I nervously thought as I slowly turned my head around. _I mean this place is peaceful, what can harm me here?_

"Fuck." I whispered as a large stone egg with an angered expression leaned over me, "A walking stone egg…make that eggs." I gulped as more Stone eggs as tall as ten feet began running towards me.

"HELP!" I screamed as I scrabbled to my feet and ran as fast as I could to escape the stone eggs dodging rocks, flowers and the white creatures that Sophie was chasing before.

_Wait those aren't creatures._ I screamed in my head as I saw the egg shape they had. _Those are eggs, FREAKING EGGS THAT CAN WALK AND RUN! WHERE THE HELL AM I?!_

"ANYONE, HELP!" I screamed once more as I continued to run through the grassy hills, looking behind me to make sure the stone eggs didn't get to close. Surprisingly, despite being made out of stone, the eggs easily matched my pace and if they got close enough, they tried to crush me.

_This is sooo not my day. Jack when I see you again, I want a fucking explanation as to why you and the others were in Jamie's room in the first place!_

After ten minutes of non-stop running, I managed to lose most of the stone eggs and tried to catch my breath at a nearby waterhole. Cupping my hands, I dipped them into the water and drank as much as I could. I smiled contentedly as the water calmed down my pounding heart and put my mind at ease.

"I could just lay down here and relax." I smiled softly as I laid down on the soft cool grass, enjoying the slight breeze that came through. "Forget about everything…I could forget about my living situation…all the teasing I go through on a daily basis at school…just be…..me." I finished softly staring at the bright sky above me.

_I wish I could stay here forever…but I need to find Sophie and find a way home. _I sighed as I rolled over and pushed myself up. _And find a way not to get noticed by those stone egg things;_

"Now, where am I going to find Sophie in this huge place?" I muttered looking around for any sign of the little blonde girl. "Might as well start somewhere—WAH!" I screamed as vines wrapped around my ankles and pulled me high up into the tree. I swung wildly as I tried to pull myself up to grab onto the vines but to no avail. I simply wasn't err…fit enough.

"No don't pull me higher!" I pleaded with the apparently live plants as I felt myself being pulled upwards, "I don't want to go higher! PLEASE STOP I'M SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" I screamed loudly as more vines wrapped themselves around me.

_Great, not only am I high above ground,_ I screamed inside my head as the vines jolted me. _But I'm going to die by plants, freaking plants. What a way to go._

"Where are you going Bunny?" A rough Russian voice echoed though out the valley.

_Someone's here! I'm saved!_ I thought happily despite feeling a bit nauseous every time I saw the ground.

"Someone's here besides the little ankle biter!" An Australian accent growled out. "And from the looks of it, they ain't friendly. One of the eggs are cracked."

_It was an accident I didn't mean to step on whatever those were!_ I shouted although it was muffled by the vines.

"Could Pitch have gotten here before us?" A more feminine voiced asked as the sounds of footsteps came closer.

"Only one way to find out, CHARGE!"

_Oh fuck,_ I thought as I could make out the shape of a spear over the hill. _Now I'm going to get stabbed by a Russian, Australian, and a girl. Can't I get a break!?_

"Stop!" I screamed…well tried to, "I don't mean any harm! AHHHHHHHHH!" I shrieked in fear as the approaching group screamed as well before stopping a couple of feet away from me. My eyes widened as I saw the group standing before me, their eyes being just as wide as mine. It looked like Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny had woken up from the Sandman's dream sand and had come here, wherever here was. Standing behind the large Russian man stood two yetis welding spears along with small red creatures wearing bells on top of their heads…wait were those elves?!

"Stephanie?" A familiar voice asked behind the major spirits and I nearly cried out in joy as I saw Jack stepping out from behind them. "Is that you?"

"Jack! My god, you don't know how glad I am to see you!" I cried as the vines slowly loosened their grip on me and gently placed me back on the floor. "I nearly died by huge ass stone eggs, and then the vines pulled me high into the trees and Sophie—damn! Sophie's still lost!" I suddenly shouted grabbing onto Jack's frosted sweater. "We have to find—"

"Relax Stephanie." Jack chuckled, "Sophie's right with cottontails. No harm done."

"Steph, Steph, Steph!" I heard Sophie giggle as she appeared right being the large almost humanoid rabbit. "It's the Easter bunny!"

"Yeah," I sighed, relieved that she was alright. "I hope he's been taking care of you." I smiled as I ruffled her hair as she held onto several eggs.

"Wait, you see us?" The large rabbit asked shocked as the other spirits shared his look. "How? You're not a child!" I shrugged as I grabbed Sophie and held her in my arms.

"It's been like that since I was six. Honestly I don't know how, but I just see all of you guys. I'm pretty sure you don't see me though…although that fairy looks familiar." I muttered as I took notice of the small tooth fairy fluttering near Jack, squeaking as I called her out. "Have you been to the Orphanage in Burgess? Just wondering—"

"Hold on," the humanlike bunny began again, glaring slightly at my direction. "Were you the one that destroyed one of my eggs?"

"That was an accident." I quickly replied, not wanting to upset the Easter spirit. "I was trying to get to Sophie and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I accidentally stepped on one of the eggs. But in my defense, they were very small and I didn't even notice them until I stepped on them."

"Relax, the Kangaroo won't hurt you." Jack laughed as I placed Sophie on the floor since she struggled to get down after watching a group of eggs rush past us. "He's just a big softy—"

"Watch it Frostbite." The rabbit growled lightly before nearly tripping over Sophie as she ran between his legs. "What are the two of you doing here anyways?!"

"Hey it's not my fault that you carry magical snow globe portals in your coat mister Santa," I huffed as I watched over Sophie to make sure she didn't get into any more trouble. "Which reminds me, what were the five of you doing in Jamie's room? I thought only the tooth fairy collected teeth. And where's the Sandman? I thought he would be here with you?" As soon as the words left my mouth, the spirits mood suddenly turned sour and they all looked away from my eyes. "What happened? What's going on?" I asked as I had a bad feeling something more sinister was unfolding.

"I'll tell you later." Jack quickly said smiling as brightly as he could. "But for now, we're going to need your help."

"Help? Help with what?" I asked, confused before I saw an enormous group of small eggs walking over the hill and towards us.

"Whoa there mate," The rabbit growled lightly at the winter spirit. "Who said you can invite her to help—"

"Hey I take that as an insult!"

"She doesn't even know what to do—"

"Hey—"

"Bunnymund, don't be so rude to girl!" Santa (who I soon learned, preferred to be called North) interrupted the Easter Bunny in a thick Russian accent, "It cannot be helped if she doesn't know how to paint eggs, since Christmas is more important than Easter." The Russian man chuckled as the rabbit glared daggers at him.

"Oi, we already established that this one time Easter is more important than Christmas, everyone heard ya!"

"Wait, painting eggs? You paint your eggs here?!" I gasped, "Wait, why do you need help painting eggs?"

"Because of Pitch." The bird-girl sighed as she fluttered near me.

"Wait, Pitch as in Pitch Black?" I asked, snapping my head up at the mention of my sort of friend's name. "What does he have to do with Easter?"

"You know the Boogieman?" North asked, as the rest of the spirits, including Jack, looked at me with shocked expressions. I merely nodded.

"He's the first spirit I saw, and since then I've been seeing other spirits. We talk to each other once in a while when he's bored of giving kids nightmares. What's going on? What does this have to do with Pitch? Is he alright?"

"Alright? You're asking if he's alright?! I'll tell ya what's alright—" the Easter bunny growled as he stepped closer to me before the Tooth fairy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Bunny—"

"What's going on?! Why are you guys hating on Pitch so much? He hasn't done anything wrong…has he?" I hesitantly asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Is Pitch a good friend to you?" The Russian man asked, surprising me as well as the others.

"Pitch a friend!? That'll be the day—"

"Quiet Bunny, let the girl answer." North snapped, shutting the large rabbit up before turning to me.

"Well, he has his flaws just like everyone else. Nobody's perfect. He doesn't hurt me if that's what you're asking." The rabbit scoffed at my response and I glared angrily at him. How dare he judge Pitch! I would like to see him not go crazy after hundreds of years in solitude.

"Are you sure of that?" North asked me once again, "You are sure Pitch does not harm you—"

"Just cut the crap and tell me what's going on! I'm not a kid, I'm almost an adult. I can handle it." I sighed as the spirits looked at each other before Jack sighed.

"Pitch killed Sandy and plans to cover the world in darkness." I said nothing as I took in Jack's words and finally pieced together the conversation I had with Pitch the night before

"Pitch…he killed Sandman? But it doesn't….how did this…when did this happen?!" I cried my voice cracking towards the end.

_No, Pitch wouldn't do that…right?_

"Just earlier this night." Jack muttered, lowering his head down as the rest of the spirits. "Pitch attacked us just a little after we left Jamie's room." I closed my eyes and held back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Was he tired of kids not seeing him?" I asked looking at the spirits with watery eyes. "Was that the reason he's attacking you guys? So he can spread fear and darkness to the world? Like the dark ages?"

"Yes, that is what he plans to do." North sighed as he placed a large hand on my shoulder. "But we will not let that happen."

"But he killed…he killed—"

"Just calm down," Tooth softly said as she fluttered next to me. "There's no need for you to worry—"

"I'm sorry but I can't just not worry! He's a friend, someone who's lost and just wants to be noticed and I feel as if it IS my fault. If I was a better friend to him, talked to him more—"

"Hey kid, stop blaming yourself," Bunnymund sighed as he hopped closer towards me. "Pitch was never good news. He was just bound to snap—"

"I would like to see you stay sane after hundreds of years in solitude." I growled out, "Pitch needed someone, and that someone was me. This is all my fault." I whispered, closing my eyes in shame. "Pitch wouldn't have done this, not if I gave him more of my time—"

"Steph come on," Jack said as he floated towards me, lifting my chin so both our eyes met. "This ISN'T your fault. So stop blaming yourself. Just because you're the only one that see's all spirits doesn't mean you have to ensure that they're all happy. You did what you could and that's all that matters so don't be so down alright?" I nodded softly seeing his point but still, I couldn't help but feel responsible at the mess Pitch created.

"Steph?" Sophie's voice rang out forcing my attention on the little blonde girl in front of me, "You alright?" I gave her a small smile and kneeled down to her level and ruffled her hair playfully.

"Yeah, just having an adult conversation with my friends. So whatcha got there? An egg? Are you going to paint it?" Immediately Sophie giggled nodding her head furiously.

"Yeah! Bunny, Bunny, Bunny!" Sophie laughed as the eggs jumped out of her arms and ran around the Easter rabbit who looked rather surprised and unsure what to do.

"What are we supposed to do with her now?"

"Wow, if one little girl is all what it takes to ruin Easter, then we're in more trouble than I thought." Jack chuckled as Sophie continued to chase the eggs. "Have any of you actually spent any time with kids?"

"We can't spend time with kids!" North exclaimed, "We are too busy bringing joy to children to…bring…joy to children." I snorted softly, smiling as I knew what Jack was about to do.

"Well then, we just need to have some fun then shall we?" Forming a small snowflake on his fingertips, he blew it towards the unsuspecting rabbit landing it directly between his eyes. For a moment nothing happened before a smile found its way onto the rabbit's face.

"Wanna paint some eggs?" he asked Sophie, smiling happily while Sophie returned with full blast.

"Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!"

"Well, then let's paint go paint those eggs." I smiled as I followed the Easter Bunny—who placed Sophie on his back and jumped towards the large group of eggs waiting in the valley below.

* * *

"It still baffles me how the eggs are made." I muttered as I concentrated on the egg in front of me, trying to embellish a design on the small creature, "I mean this shouldn't really exist yet I can't deny what I'm seeing with my own eyes."

"You and I are on the same boat." Jack replied as he floated over me watching me work. The Easter Bunny had forbidden him to touch his eggs, seeing that Jack could freeze them accidentally. Not that Jack really minded, he hated doing work like this. "Never would have expected Bunny prepared his eggs like this.

"A colored river, vines that paint swirls on eggs, and flowers that cough out powder paint, yup so…totally how I expected to see eggs being painted. Still, this is all chocolate?"

"Every last one of them." The Easter Rabbit smiled as he passed through our section, Sophie still on his back.

"Hey um Bunnymund, do you think I can take about thirty Eggs with me?" I asked as I placed the egg down and watched it hurry to the other eggs. The large rabbit gave me a curious look.

"Why do ya want so many?"

"It's for the kids at the orphanage. I know you don't visit the city often to hide eggs, usually you prefer parks or something close to the forest so you can hide from kids. We don't have enough money to bring the kids to the annual Easter Egg hunt at the park this year and we don't have that many eggs for all the kids there and I really want the kids to have a good Easter this year, especially after all the budget cuts we've been getting." I sighed rubbing my eyes before yawning very loudly. How long has it been since Sophie and I arrived here?

"Oh…sure take as many as ya want mate." The Easter Bunny smiled softly before reaching out to a bush and grabbed a basket. "You can put the eggs here,"

"Thanks," I smiled grabbing the neatly hand woven basket from the rabbit's hand. "The kids will be very happy."

"No problem mate."

"I have to ask," Tooth suddenly asked as she flew over to us surprising all three of us. "How did you meet Jack?"

"That's a really simple story really." I laughed as Jack blushed showing a shade of pink."It was a year after I met Pitch. I was walking home after just sitting near the edge of the pond at the forest next to Burgess and I noticed a rather cold breeze. When I looked up, I saw Jack jumping through the trees and frosting everything in sight. Me being me, I thought he was another kid from an orphanage who was lost and when I called out to him, he fell in surprise."

"Hey, in my defense it was the first time anyone called out to me in like 300 years." Jack argued as the other spirits tried to hold in their chuckles.

"What did you call 'im?" The rabbit asked, smirking at Jack's embarrassed look.

"A white-haired, tree-jumping, hobo."

"A white-haired, tree-jumping hobo?" The tooth fairy laughed along with her small minion who had been dubbed Baby tooth. "I'm sorry Jack but that's just too funny."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want." Jack grumbled before lightly frosting my eggs that I started to put in the basket.

"Oi you watch it, don't freeze my eggs, I worked hard on them!" our little argument stopped right there as Sophie gave out a huge yawn.

"Oh it's really past her bedtime." I muttered, smiling softly at the sleepy girl. "We should be getting back. Her parents should be coming home soon, and it wouldn't look good if Sophie and I are missing."

"I'll take you two home." the Easter Bunny offered giving me the sleeping Sophie.

"Let me." Jack suddenly said appearing right behind me. "I know where she lives and-"

"No Jack you must stay here and help protect the eggs." North said motioning to the eggs that were steadily going to the large tunnels that led to the continents. "You are the only one that can take on Pitch."

"Don't worry I'll be quick-"

"How do you plan on being quick if you have two to carry?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "And you're not flying me there, you know how I feel about heights."

"All the more reason I should go." Bunnymund smiled as he saw Jack frown.

"Well actually, I should be heading to the Orphanage right now," I sighed as I looked at my watch-it read 5:35- before running my hand through my hair. "And since I don't really like air travel do you think you can drop me off Bunny ? And then Jack can take Sophie home, which will take less time. "

"I don't know-"

"Aw, come on Bunny?" Jack whined, "Don't be so mean to Stephanie. Besides she really hates air travel so any flying would be out of the question."

"I hate to rush you but we really need to get going before Sophie's parents come home." I said as I grabbed the basket full of chocolate eggs.

"Fine I'll take ya." the rabbit sighed finally giving in before crouching down. "Hop on."

"Don't take too long." the fairy said as the four of us prepared ourselves to leave. "And it was really nice to meet you Stephanie."

"It was nice meeting all of you as well." I smiled as I tightly grabbed ahold of the Easter Bunny's fur.

"Let's get going then." the Rabbit smiled before shooting off towards the tunnels at lightning speeds.

"Woohoo!" I laughed as my hair whipped around my face. "Now this is traveling! How fast are we going?"

"Faster than you think." the rabbit chuckled as he hopped off the walls before suddenly turning a steep right. "Hold on tight, we're going up."

What do you mean-whoa!" I laughed as I held on to the rabbit's fur as we shot straight up. "Best method of travel ever." I chuckled as the humanoid rabbit stopped behind a group of trees at least three blocks from the orphanage. The sun was barely rising and I could see the outline of the orphanage roof. The workers would probably be waking up soon. "Thanks for the ride and the eggs, the kids will love them." I thanked the Easter Bunny as I slid off his back shivering slightly at the morning wind. I had completely forgotten I was merely in my pajamas.

"No problem mate." the rabbit smiled as he walked back to the forest. "Anyone willing to help kids is a friend of mine. Now get going before you freeze." I rolled my eyes before smiling.

"Yes Easter Bunny."

"Call me Bunnymund." he said smiling back at me before jumping down the tunnel we just traveled and I watched in fascination as it closed and out popped a bright violet flower.

"Still baffles me how they can do that."

-Line break-

"Oh Stephanie you're here early." the caretaker smiled as she saw me enter the Orphanage where the older kids were as well. We were the ones who organized events like these for the younger ones. "But why are you still-"

"Um yeah I thought I slept in so I just hurried here," I chuckled nervously, "And apparently I wasn't. But since I'm here why don't we get started?"

"Alright. Well we were just deciding which kids will participate in this years egg hunt since we don't have that many eggs-"

"Hey what do you have in your basket?" one of the older kids asked as he took notice of the basket I was carrying.

"Oh it's some chocolate eggs for the kids." I smiled as I placed them on the table where the other eggs sat. "This should be enough for all the kids to participate right?" the caretaker stared in shock at the beautifully painted eggs before looking at me.

"How did you get these eggs?" I shrugged inwardly smiling.

"I just saved some money to get some more quality eggs this time for the kids. Now, how about we hide some eggs?"

-Line Break-

"Wake up sleepy heads!" I sang, poking my head though the doorway where the younger kids slept, "It's Easter and you know what that means…" In an instant, several heads popped from underneath the covers, their eyes shining with happiness.

"EASTER EGG HUNT!"

"Come one, eat some breakfast and we'll start the Easter egg hunt as soon as all of you are finished." Quicker than I thought possible, the kids jumped out of bed and raced downstairs to the breakfast hall where the other kids were waiting.

"Are you—cough—going to—cough—hunt with us?" Lizzy asked as she calmly walked out of the room.

"For a while," I smiled squatting to her level. "But then I have to meet up with my other friends cause I promised them I would. Now get some breakfast so we can have ourselves an egg hunt." Lizzy giggled before running down the stairs to join the rest of the others.

"So where did you really get those eggs?" The caretaker asked surprising me.

"Oh yeah, I mean I really did earn—"

"No one paints eggs like these in town." She smiled holding up one of the eggs I painted at the Easter Bunny's home. "And certainly not made out of pure chocolate. So where did you get these eggs?"

"From a…secret source." I smiled making my way down the steps to join the others for breakfast.

"Although you might want to change into something else besides your pajamas." Without saying a word, I quickly turned around and walked as fast as I could into my room while the caretaker laughed.

"WOW THEY'RE REAL CHOCOLATE EGGS!" One of the kids cried as they found one of the eggs we had hidden earlier that morning.

"They're so pretty!"

"There's more over here!"

"Best Easter Egg Hunt ever!"

"Doesn't this put a smile on your face?" The caretaker smiled softly at the children's happy faces. It's been a while since the younger kids really had any fun, it was probably a nice change for them.

"Yeah, it does. There's not many days where they can have fun and be themselves you know." I smiled as well watching the kids looking over their eggs. Suddenly one of kids, Jimmy if I remember, came running up to us and smiled brightly.

"Thank you for giving us this egg hunt misses."

"You're very welcome—"

"So the Easter Bunny doesn't exist then?" Another child asked as she overheard Jimmy.

"Of course not." He replied before I could explain, "The Easter Bunny can't hide all eggs in the world, besides chickens lay eggs not bunnies."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." The girl nodded before running off and telling the other children.

_Well, looks like the Easter Bunny lost a couple believers_. I sighed as the rest of the children believed Jimmy's words. _Sorry about that._

"Wait what time is it?" I asked the caretaker suddenly realizing that it was getting late.

"It's about noon why?"

"Shit! I'm so late. Sorry, but I promised the Bennett's I would go on an egg hunt with them. Sorry but I have to go—"

"Go on, don't let us keep you waiting, you've already done more than enough for these kids." She smiled before shooing me off. "Now go."

"Thanks! I'll be back by nine!" I called out as I turned around and began running towards the Bennett household.

"You better, we don't want you to miss our Easter Dinner!"

"I won't! Promise!"

* * *

"Sorry I'm late." I huffed as I finally reached the picket fence of the Bennett house. "We were busy helping the kids…did you guys just barely start?" I asked as I was greeted by Jamie and his friend's empty basket.

"We started about an hour ago." One of the girls sighed looking sadly at her empty basket. "We haven't found any eggs."

_They couldn't find any eggs? But I spent all night basically helping the Easter Bunny prepare them!_

"Yeah, all the other kids can't find them either." Another, stockier girl, muttered out.

"Come on you guys, I bet he hid them really well this year!" Jamie cried out.

"Jamie, come on, the Easter Bunny isn't real." An African American boy sighed along with his brother.

"Yes, he is! I saw him, he's like really tall and awesome looking!" Before Jamie could continue, another boy with glasses cut him off.

"At least you have nice dreams and not…." All the kids looked at each other and for the first time I finally noticed the bags under their eyes as if they didn't get enough sleep. But that's impossible, they were barely entering middle school they shouldn't be staying up late at night unless—

_They're having nightmares…Pitch…he's the reason behind all of this._

"Nightmares." The larger girl finished before the rest of Jamie's friends walked off, a cloud of misery basically hanging over their heads.

"The Easter Bunny is real…right Stephanie?" Jamie asked in an uncertain voice as soon as his friends left.

"He is real Jamie, I said kneeling down to his level. "As long as you believe in him then he's as real as you and me."

"But he didn't—"

"So just because of one failed Easter you're going to stop believing in him? Does that mean if the sun is hiding behind the clouds you're gonna stop believing that the sun exists?" I asked smiling as the last statement made Jamie smile a bit.

"No."

"Well then, the Easter Bunny exists then alright? And don't let anyone force you to change your beliefs alright?"

"Alright."

"Good," I smiled as I ruffled Jamie's hat, it was still cold enough to wear jackets and hats, before standing up. "Well, how about we go inside and eat some lunch? After that, I'll show you how to make some homemade Easter eggs alright?"Jamie nodded furiously smiling as I pushed him inside his house.

_But what happened?_ I wondered as I looked towards the sky hoping to see any signs of Jack or the other Spirits, _Bunny made those eggs, I saw them entering the tunnels, for gods sake, I took some with me! But why didn't they make it up to the surface? Was Pitch…was he behind all this?_

"Why Pitch…why?" I whispered before entering the Bennett household where for the rest of the afternoon I made eggs with Jamie and Sophie.

* * *

"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Jamie whined as I threw my bag over my shoulder. It was about eight at night and I had to get going if I wanted to make it on time for the Easter dinner at the orphanage. "Please?"

"Sorry kiddo." I smiled softly kneeling to his level. "But I'm due back at the Orphanage. If your parents need a babysitter then I'll be back."

"Probably next month Jamie." His mother answered as he turned around to ask his parents. "You'll just have to wait until then."

"A whole month?! That's like forever!" Jamie complained while Sophie chanted 'Forever, forever, forever' around me.

"Nah, it'll be here before you know it." I reassured him before standing up and shook hands with the Bennett's. "Thank you for having me, and letting me babysit them."

"No, thank you." Mrs. Bennett smiled as I shook her hand. "They love you and I secretly think they think of you as their older sister."

"You sure you don't want a ride home?" Mr. Bennett asked as he pulled out a couple of twenties and handed them to me. "It's not exactly safe—"

"I'll be fine Mr. Bennett don't worry." I smiled reassuringly. "Besides it's like a fifteen minute walk there, not really worth the gas." Mr. Bennett just sighed.

"Alright then, just be safe."

"I will." I chuckled as Jamie and Sophie latched onto my legs. "Bye, Jamie! Bye, Sophie! See you guys in a month or so."

"Bye Steph." Jamie mumbled into my leg as he let go of me.

"Bye, bye." Sophie sang out as her mother picked her up as I opened the door. I gave the Bennett's one last wave before walking out.

"Well it looks like Jack's still doing his job." I shivered as I wrapped my jacket tighter around me as the wind whipped around me. "I wonder what happened—shit!" I screamed as a trash can fell over and a stray cat raced out in front of me. "Stupid cat." I grumbled trying to slow down my beating heart. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Oh so I wasn't doing a job well done then, pity." a cold sinister voice echoed from the shadows. Spinning around I saw golden eyes emerging from the shadows before a pale body materialized.

"Pitch" I muttered softly my eyes growing wide at his appearance. Everything the spirits had told me before suddenly came rushing back and I involuntary took a step back. "What are you doing out here in the open? I thought you preferred—"

"Oh don't try to play innocent Stephanie." Pitch scoffed as he took a step closer to me. With my peripheral vision I tried to see if there was another way out but I was at the edge of the city and at least five more blocks from the orphanage. But Pitch wouldn't hurt me…right?

"What do you mean Pitch-"

"The guardians told you everything about me, they told you how I killed Sandman and now how I destroyed Easter, well not without a little help from Jack." He chuckled as I furiously grew angry with him and his actions. This wasn't the Pitch Black that I knew when I was six. This was a corrupted Pitch.

"Pitch! Why are you doing this? And why bring Jack into this mess?! I'm sorry I wasn't a good enough friend to you but you don't have to—"

"Oh so you think that this is your fault that I'm suddenly showing my true intentions? You make me laugh." The Boogieman growled out, taking another step closer to me. "I'm doing all of this because I'm tired of having the Guardians always meddling whenever I try to bring fear. It's time for them to finally cease existing. After all I just need to finish with one last believer and then they are done forever." Pitch smirked evilly.

_Jamie,_ I thought as I remembered the conversation I had earlier. _He wants Jamie to stop believing._

"And me?" I asked trying to stall the dark spirit. "Why not come after me? I see you guys—"

"But that's about it my dear Stephanie. You see them but you don't truly believe in them. You're not even a dot on North's globe. I have no business with you." I glared angrily at Pitch now wary of his intentions. If he had no business with me on the whole believing matter, then why was he here talking to me?

"Then I won't let you touch Jamie and I certainly won't let you destroy the Guardians! Kids need them, they have to have hope and I won't let you destroy that!" I shouted before a strand of black sand shot out and wrapped around my wrist. "Hey let go of me!" I snarled as I tried pulling my wrist free from the black sand.

"Sorry, but I cannot do that." Pitch said giving me a crooked smile as more sand began wrapping itself around me, forcing my bag and hat off. "You see, I need leverage and sadly you're the leverage I need. No hard feelings." He chuckled as he slowly walked back into the shadows and his shadows obeyed, silently pulling me along.

"Pitch!" I shouted only to be muffled by sand as we entered the shadows. I struggled even harder but it seemed the more I struggled the more the sand tightened itself around me.

"It's nothing personal." Pitch muttered before my world went black and we disappeared from the streets leaving a bag and hat as the only evidence that I was ever there. The war against the Boogieman was now coming to a close, but I honestly had no idea who would prevail.

* * *

**Another chapter done. Sorry if it's not that exciting at the moment, it does later, I promise everything starts to get interesting once this whole Pitch thing is finished. Well what do you guys think? Like it? Hate it? Please review! It really makes my day! :) **


	3. Chaos Revealed

Believe

**Hey I'm back for another chapter of Rise of the Guardians. Sorry this took so long, school got hectic and yeah, not much time for writing. So I hope you enjoy this chapter of **_**Believe**_** and it'll be a while before I post the next chapter up since I want to finish up my Avengers chapter next.**

**Thanks for reviewing:**

**Daisy54154**

**It really means a lot to me when people review my story. I'll try to continue writing as fast as I can.**

**Talking; "**What the hell Jack?!"

**Thoughts:**_"This can't be real right?"_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Rise of the Guardians or its story plot. I do own my OC Stephanie.**

* * *

_Last Time_

_"Pitch!" I shouted only to be muffled by sand as we entered the shadows. I struggled even harder but it seemed the more I struggled the more the sand tightened itself around me._

_"It's nothing personal." Pitch muttered before my world went black and we disappeared from the streets leaving a bag and hat as the only evidence that I was ever there. The war against the Boogieman was now coming to a close, but I honestly had no idea who would prevail._

* * *

_**Stephanie's POV**_

It was dark…and cold…terrifying cold when I regain consciousness. For a moment I had thought I had left the window open in my room before remembering the events from earlier. I shot straight up and tried to adjust my eyes to the darkness only to realize that this wasn't ordinary darkness and…it frightened me. I hugged myself as I turned my head around, trying to find any source of light before whispers began echoing around me.

"Who is it?" I asked, choking back a sob as I could faintly recognize words coming from the whispers. As soon as I spoke up, the whispers grew in volume, nearly blasting my ear drums as the whispers turning into shouting. The voices sneered and taunted me, reminding me of my childhood where children made fun of me, only getting worse as I grew older

"_**Freak!"**_

"_**Loser!"**_

"_**Get lost, no one wants you!"**_

"_**Just die freak! The world would be better off without you here!"**_

"Make it stop," I sobbed covering my ears as I tried to drown out the voices, "Please just make it stop."

_This wasn't supposed to happen; I wasn't supposed to be dragged into this mess. Why me Pitch? Why?_ I thought inside my black prison before I felt sand swirling around me.

"It's over Pitch," Jack's voice echoed throughout my pitch black prison. "There's nowhere to run."

"Jack!" I cried as I tried to look for the source of the voice, arms stretching out aimlessly. "Jack! Help me please! Jack!"

"Who said I'm running!" Pitch's voice sneered as the black sand wrapped itself tightly around my arms before the surrounding darkness began clearing up. "After all you don't want any harm to come to dear Stephanie would you?" Pitch laughed as the sand finally cleared up and I could see the shocked faces of the guardians plus Jack as Pitch held me in a firm chokehold.

"Jack." I choked out as Pitch tightened his hold on my throat. "Jack!"

"Let go of Stephanie!" Jack roared, his icy blue eyes flashing angrily as he pointed his staff at Pitch. "Let her go or I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?" Pitch taunted as he pulled me closer to him. "Freeze me? You'll freeze dear Stephanie as well." His voice sent shivers down my spine as he chuckled behind my ear.

"Pitch!" North bellowed, lifting his sword and pointing it at Pitch "You don't have enough power to fight all of us so let go of Stephanie."

"No power?" Pitch chuckled evilly and I got a sinking feeling that it wasn't going to end well for me. "All I need is fear—"

"The kids don't fear ya' " Bunnymund growled, his fingers twitching above his boomerangs. "You don't have any power source."

"Now that's where you're wrong." Pitch smirked before black sand wrapped itself around Pitch and I. "There is still one that is afraid of me, or rather of heights. Shall we go for a ride?" I shook my head furiously, but Pick merely laughed and before any of the Guardians could come to my aid, Pitch's sand shot us into the air. "Scream Stephanie, scream." He whispered into my ear as he forced me to look down as we flew higher and higher into the sky. For a moment, I said nothing, shocked at the sudden and large distance we were from the ground before I released a high pitched scream.

"AHHHHHHHHHH" I screamed bloody murder as my fear of heights peaked. "LET ME DOWN, LET ME DOWN!" I sobbed as I tried to pull away from Pitch. "PLEASE LET ME DOWN. I'M SCARED!"

"Music to my ears." Pitch laughed as more black sand swirled around the dark spirit, feeding off my fear and powering up the spirit. "Now where were we? Ah yes, finishing you off." Pitch snarled as Jack and the Tooth Fairy flew towards us. With a snap of his fingers, several more nightmares formed from the black sand circling around me before charging at the two Guardians, blocking them from helping me.

"Pitch, please, stop this." I sobbed trying very hard not to pass out from my fear. "This isn't you—"

"ISN'T ME!" Pitch roared, flying higher into the sky where I quickly began sobbing once more. "This IS me, Stephanie. This is what I do. And I'll make sure you help me achieve that." Pitch chuckled evilly as his sand loosened its grip on me.

"W-what—what are you doing!" I cried as I furiously tried to grab onto the black sand as I began slipping.

"I'm taking you down, just not the way you expect though." Pitch smirked before commanding his sand to let go of me completely. I said nothing for a moment as I felt myself freefalling before I once again screamed my lungs off.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed as I fell through the many nightmares flying around fighting off Jack and Tooth. I could hear Pitch laughing hysterically as more nightmares arose from the sand that still surrounded me. "STOP PLEASE JUST STOP—UGH!" I grunted as a nightmare knocked me into the stomach before throwing me onto it's back and back up to Pitch. "Why?" I cried as I held onto the nightmare tighter, watching in horror as more nightmares emerged from my fear.

"Because, it's who I am." Pitch growled out before sighing heavily as he heard North's battle cry. From the corner of my eye I could see North and Bunnymund riding in North's sleigh to assist their fellow guardians. "Ah, more uninvited guests. We can fix that easily." With a snap of his fingers, the nightmare I was holding onto suddenly lurched and flew even higher.

"STOP PLEASE NO JUST STOP!" I shouted, hiding my face into the nightmare's mane. "STOP USING ME PLEASE!" I sobbed as I held onto dear life as the nightmare continued to run about in the sky.

"Hold on Stephanie!" I heard Jack yell among the neighing of the nightmares, "We'll save you!"

"Oh really?" Pitch laughed as more nightmares blocked the guardian's path. "I beg to differ." More tears poured out of my eyes as I saw the guardians barely holding off the nightmares. "Now who will you protect more? The children or the grown up?" Pitch laughed once more as he snapped his fingers and at least a dozen nightmares flew past the guardians and headed straight for the streets below. Straining my head, my eyes widen in shock as I saw Jamie and his friends beginning to run away from the nightmares down below.

"Pitch! Stop this! They don't have to be involved in this whatsoever! Please leave them alone!" I cried as I saw North and Bunnymund quickly jump back into North's sleigh to provide aid the kids below. "Leave them out of—THIIISSS! AHHH" I screamed as the nightmare suddenly lurched forward, higher into the sky. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I sobbed, "Just please let me down."

"I'll have to think on it." Pitch chuckled before dodging an Ice beam sent from Jack. "But for now, I have pests to deal with."

_I have to stop this,_ I thought shakily as I saw Pitch engaging a fight with Jack and Tooth. _I have to stop feeding his nightmares fear. But how? I'm experiencing what I fear the most._ I thought sadly as tears continue to fall through my closed eyes

_You have to fall off the nightmare and believe that Jack or the Tooth Fairy will catch you_. A feminine voice echoed in my head, surprising me. _Believe in them and you'll stop feeding fear to the nightmares._

_ARE YOU KIDDING ME! YOU'RE ASKING ME TO LET GO OF MY ONLY LIFELINE IN HOPES THAT EITHER JACK OR TOOTH WILL CATCH ME? THAT'S SCARIER THAN BEING THIS HIGH! _I screamed mentally as the nightmare continued to race around the sky, making it impossible for Jack or Tooth to get near me.

_Then let the children below get devoured by the nightmares._ The voice retaliated, _Let the boogie man win. But when he does, know that it could have prevented if you just believed in the guardians._ I bit my lip as I thought about what the voice talked about and as I looked down below I could see the frightened faces of Jamie and his friends as Bunnymund and North furiously try to fend off the nightmares.

"Jamie." I whispered, wanting nothing more than to help the children below.

_All I have to do is believe right?_ I asked the voice as I tried to calm down my beating heart as I finally made my decision.

_Believe and everything will be fine._ The voice reassured me and I closed my eyes one final time before opening them again, ready to let go.

"Here goes nothing." I whispered as I let go of the nightmare and as it lurched to the right, I felt my body go the opposite direction and next thing I knew, I was free falling once again through the night sky. Turning my body around, I furiously tried keeping my fear of heights to a minimum as I tried looking for Jack or Tooth wanting to believe that the voice inside my head wasn't suicidal.

"STEPHANIE!" I heard Jack yell over to my left and as I turned my head, I could see Jack racing straight towards me.

"Jack!" I yelled as I stretched out my arms towards him, praying that he would get to me before the nightmares would.

"Jack watch out!" Tooth shouted as she tried to fly towards Jack only to be stopped by several nightmares. I turned my heard to the direction she pointed at and I could see Pitch aiming a black arrow towards the winter spirit before letting it go. For some reason, as I watched it happen in slow motion, a memory not belonging to me suddenly entered my mind.

_Memory_

_"WATCH OUT!" A blonde haired Greek teen, with several wound decorating his toga and skin, shouted once again forcing her attention away for a moment only to see a man smirking at her darkly aim his black arrow at her before letting go. She stood here, watching as the arrow came closer and closer before she felt a body push her to the side, taking the hit for her._

_"No!" She screamed as she saw black sand devouring the blonde's body. "NO!" She could only watch in horror as she saw her friend slowly disappear from this world smiling at her as if saying 'It doesn't matter that I'm dying as long as you're alright.' "CUPID!"_

_End of Memory_

_What the hell?_ I thought as the strange memory suddenly disappeared from her head. _ What was that? Never mind, I have to do something to help Jack! But what?!_ Before I could ponder anything further, I felt by body suddenly move on it's own. My arms stretched out in front of me and my legs snapped together and before I knew it, I was racing towards Jack at incredible speeds.

"Watch out!" I shouted as I pushed Jack roughly out of the way only to feel searing pain as something pierced my shoulder. The force of the object was enough to throw me off course and once again I was free falling to my death.

"Stephanie!" Jack shouted once again before I felt an icy hand wrap around my own and began slowing my decent. "Stephanie, are you alright?!" Jack asked as he pulled me into his chest. I groan slightly in pain as he placed pressure on my shoulder.

"I think so. Can we just get to the ground? Please?" I pleaded as I snuggled closer into his chest, feeling much safer than before.

"Sure just hold on—STEPH!" Jack cried as a nightmare plowed into the two of us and Jack lost his grip on me.

"Jack!" I screamed as I barely grabbed his hand before Jack had to dodge another nightmare.

"Well what do we have here? A dear girl hanging for her life?" Pitch chuckled above us before sneering. "Let me help you with that." With a snap of his fingers, more nightmares rushed towards us before Jack could lift me back into the safety of his arms.

"Hold on Stephanie!" Jack cried as he flew past the nightmares, dodging them the best he could while holding onto me.

"Jack I'm scared." I sobbed, clinging tightly to the winter spirit as he held me up in the air, thousands of feet above ground. I heard him grunt as he tried to dodge another nightmare horse, but got knocked in the shoulder. I frantically looked around to see if I could find help but the rest of the guardians were too busy fighting Pitch's minions to even get near us. Not to mention that they were furiously trying to protect Sophie, Jaime, and his friends.

"Don't worry we'll be fine. I promise." Jack whispered through clenched teeth, as he quickly flew up to avoid another nightmare attack. Above us, I heard a sinister chuckle echoing around us before Pitch materialized out of thin air and smirked at us.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Jack" Pitched laughed as Jack used his right arm to point his wooden staff at the dark spirit. Before Jack could even try to attack, Pitch disappeared and the black sand from earlier suddenly began speeding towards the unsuspecting children below.

"Jamie! Sophie!" I cried as I saw Pitch heading straight towards them. "The guardians—"

"Won't make it time." Jack wearily finished, as we saw the rest of the guardians try to make their way closer to the two endangered kids.

"But you can." I said softly as I looked up at Jack's shocked face. "It's ok Jack, the kids are more important." I gave him a weak smile as I loosened my grip on his hand. Jack scrunched his face in frustration before giving me a determined look.

"I'll always come back for you." Jack swore as he looked straight into my eyes. I gave him a small chuckle as tears glittered on my cheeks.

"I know." I whispered. "I believe in you." without another word, Jack threw me high into the air before speeding straight after Pitch, staff at the ready.

_I believe you'll save me._ I thought as I slowly started to fall. _And I believe you'll save us all._ I screamed helplessly as I sped towards Earth; while I believed Jack would save me, that didn't mean that I wouldn't be scared of dying.

_Watch out!_ The female voce from earlier cried but before I could ask her why, I felt something smash into my chest hard, taking away my breath.

_What the hell was that!_ I thought as I tried furiously to stop spinning before another force smashed into my left side sending me spiraling towards another direction. _That's going to leave a nasty bruise_. I thought painfully before I felt something grab my arm painfully.

"Going somewhere?" Pitch sneered as he pulled me up, forcing my eye to look into his golden ones.

"Pitch," I whimpered closing my eyes in pain as his grip tightened on my arm. "Just stop this, please. I know this isn't the same Pitch I met in my bedroom when I was six. Please—"

"ENOUGH!" Pitch growled out; I quickly closed my mouth. "Enough with your naïve thoughts Stephanie. This is who I am and nothing will change that."

"I REFUSE TO BELIVE THAT!" I suddenly shouted, surprising Pitch and myself at the sudden burst of anger. Quickly I continued to speak, fearing I would lose my small confidence I acquired. "Pitch please, stop this. I know you enjoy tormenting others and love outdoing the guardians but this isn't the way to go about it. Just please." I pleaded with the dark spirit, trying anyway to persuade him to stop this battle.

"You know nothing about me, Stephanie Jones." Pitch hissed as he tightened his hand around my arm even more. "Absolutely nothing."

_I'm so sorry I let you down Pitch, so sorry._ I thought sadly, tears slowly building up in the corner of my eyes. _ I just wish there was something I can do._

_There is something you can do…or rather what I can do. I'm terribly sorry about this, but it must be done._ The female voice inside my head sighed unhappily. Before I could ask her what she meant, I could feel myself slipping away into the darkness as if I was going to sleep.

_Wait, what are you doing!_ I thought as Pitch's face started to become blurry and I was losing control of my body. _What's going on!_

_All in due time child,_ The voice whispered softly_ But for now this must be done._ I wanted to protest more, wanted to fight against whatever was happening but I was losing the battle with the voice. _Rest and all will be over by the time you wake up._ The voice whispered, hypnotizing me to obey her and before I knew it, I had embraced the darkness.

* * *

_**Third POV**_

Pitch watched in confusion as Stephanie's eyes suddenly became glassy after her rant. Perhaps she had finally reached her breaking point and was about to pass out from fear. Pitch grinned, if that was the case then he would have an unlimited supply of fear to create more nightmares and finish off the Guardians once and for all. From the corner of his eye he could finally see that Jack had realized that the Pitch that went after the children was a fake and was frantically looking for the real him.

"It's too late." Pitch chuckled as the two spirits made eye contact. Oh how he enjoyed the shocked and scared faces of the guardians and children below. By now they must know that it was over for them, that there was no way they could win. "I've already—"

"Won? I don't think so." Stephanie growled out suddenly, surprising Pitch as he thought that she was still passed out.

_No matter,_ Pitch thought frowning at the girl, _I'll just—_

"You do realize that Chaos is just using you correct?" Stephanie spoke again but her words had a different effect on the dark spirit. Pitch's eye snapped up to Stephanie's own and he realized that her eyes were different than before. They were still a sky blue that he remembered but they looked much older, holding more knowledge than a seventeen year old should hold.

"Who are you and how do you know that name?" Pitch growled out, tightening his grip on the girl determined to get answers from her.

"Someone that's much older than you Pitchiner." Stephanie spat, her eyes glowing dangerously. "I say it again, stop this nonsense and open your eyes to what Chaos really plans to do to you. He doesn't care about helping you. All he wants is revenge."

"What do you know about Chaos! What if I don't care what he plans to do with me? What if I'm perfectly content to follow his orders if it means to finally be believed in. You know nothing!" Pitch snarled.

"Then I won't be sorry to do this." Stephanie growled out, confusing the dark spirit for a moment before he suddenly felt a rubber sole collide with his face. Surprise at the sudden attack, Pitch let go of Stephanie, nursing his wound before he remembered that she was his bargaining chip.

_Damn that girl, she's causing more trouble than I imagined_ Pitch growled as he speed towards the falling girl trying to reach her before Jack or Tooth did. Noticing that Pitch was slowly catching up to Stephanie, Jack held up his staff and pointed it at the nightmare king.

"Hold on Stephanie!" Jack shouted as he shot a beam of ice at Pitch who dodged effortlessly. He continued to shoot beam after beam careful not to his human friend but every single time Pitch either dodged it or his nightmares took the hit. "STEPHANIE!" Jack shouted as Pitched closed in on the falling girl, grabbing her neck and pulled her close to him. "LET HER GO!" Jack growled as he sped after the dark spirit determined to save her. She was the first person that could see him, wanted to be his friend, and he couldn't lose her. He wouldn't lose her especially after he knew she was the reincarnation of his first friend back when he was human.

_Jack's memory_

_With tattered brown pants, a wool white shirt and a brown vest, Jack walked around the town market, hoping to find some ingredients to help his mother cook dinner. He would have gone with Emma but she had to help Mother with some chores around the house. As Jack was lost in his thoughts he didn't notice he was walking towards another girl around his age until it was too late. Both collided with each other head on and promptly fell to the floor._

"_Sorry," Jack apologized profoundly as he helped the young girl up. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."_

"_It's quite alright." The girl said with a heavy British accent as she dusted her brown plain dress. "I was not paying either." _

"_You're not from around here are you."Jack stated as he stared at the girl longer. She had pitch black hair that went past her shoulders and surprisingly blue eyes. _

"_Correct. My father and I just moved here from London. He wanted a new start here in America."_

"_That's a really big change." Jack said before realizing that he had yet to introduce himself. "Sorry, I have yet to introduce myself. Jack, well Jackson Overland." Jack smiled as he held out his hand to the girl._

"_Pleasure to meet you…Jack," The girl smiled as she took his hand. "I'm Stephanie…Stephanie Jones."_

_From then on, the two became nearly inseparable. Where one went the other was close behind. Stephanie was a very kind and caring girl that loved to have a little fun, which Jack easily provided. She also made sure the keep Jack in check if his idea of "fun" would get a little bit on the dangerous side. Jack in turn brought out the more adventurous side of Stephanie, and made her feel very welcomed in the village. He would also cheer her up after she got scolded by her father, who everyone thought he could be less harsh on caring Stephanie._

_Stephanie's father was a mystery to most of the people and many thought he was very cold. Stephanie always defended him though, saying that despite the cold treatment she would receive along with the others, her father was a loving and caring person and she loved him._

_The scene suddenly changed as Jack, Stephanie, and Jack's little sister, Emma, were walking out of Jack's home, each held a pair of skates in their hands._

"_Be careful," A female voice called out to Jack and Stephanie while Emma giggled happily, pulling Stephanie's arm._

"_We will, don't worry." Jack smiled as Stephanie pulled on Jack's arm laughing. _

_The scene changed again but this time, both Stephanie and Jack were standing across Emma who was deathly still as the ice cracked beneath her._

"_Jack…I'm scared." She cried as Jack tried calming her down._

"_It's alright, it's alright." He whispered to her as he tried to inch his way forward towards the younger sibling before Stephanie caught his arm. Her eyes pointed to the ice beneath him and immediately he stopped walking. Jack knew he had to time it perfectly otherwise all three of them would end up in the freezing lake. _

"_Don't look down sweetie." Stephanie calmly said as she looked around for anything that could help them. "Just look at us alright? Look at Jack and me. Everything is going to fine right Jack?" Stephanie said looking at Jack hoping that he at least had an idea what to do._

"_Right," Jack quickly said catching on, "You're not going to fall in, uh we're going to have a little fun instead." Jack smiled trying to look cheerful to get the girl's mind off the impending danger._

"_No we're not." Emma cried._

"_Would I trick you?" Jack said as he looked around his feet, the cracks were getting bigger. He needed to come up with a plan fast._

"_Yes, you always play tricks!"_

"_Emma, honey I'm here." Stephanie smiled softly at the girl, managing to calm her down a bit. "Jack never plays tricks while I'm around. Believe me, he's not going to trick you. We're going to have fun alright." Emma slowly nodded and Stephanie relaxed considerably. If Emma was calm then it would be easier to get her out of the situation. "Alright just listen to Jack. He's the master of fun…the guardian of fun….believe that he'll…we'll just get out of here just fine." Stephanie looked over to Jack and saw his eyes already forming a plan._

"_Stephanie's right. We're going to have fun…you wanna play a game?" Jack smiled as he stood a little straighter confident of what he was doing. "We're going to play…hop scotch. Like we do every day. It'll be easy as one…"Jack took a step to the left where the ice was much thicker and both Stephanie and Jack winced as the ice cracked a bit underneath the weight of Jack's first step. But Jack didn't let that stop him in fact he purposely stood on one leg and exaggerated how difficult it was just to make Emma laugh. "Two." The ice cracked some more but it didn't seem as dangerous as before. "And three." With his final jump, Jack safely made it to the safer ice of the pond. Without taking his eyes off both of the girls, Jack reached for the Sheppard's Crook at his side and reached out to Emma as Stephanie motioned to Jack to save the younger girl first._

"_Your turn honey." Stephanie smiled at the girl, encouraging her to go next. "One…" At Stephanie's voice Emma put a foot forward and gasped as the ice cracked even more beneath her but Jack didn't let her dwell on that matter for long._

"_Two, come on Emma you don't want to lose to me right?" Emma took another step towards her brother and water began seeping through the ice. Before the ice could completely break Jack reached out towards Emma, with the Sheppard's Crook and pulled her towards him. "Three!" In a matter of seconds Jack switched spots with Emma, and now he stood on the unstable ice as Emma slid to safety. Both looked at each other with a smile on their faces, oblivious to the danger ahead._

"_JACK!" Stephanie cried as the ice completely broke underneath Jack's weight and he fell through, dropping the staff on the ice nearby. "JACK! Emma, go get help now!" Stephanie's muffled voice could be barely heard by Jack as the icy water pierced his skin. He tried looking up to see if Stephanie had foolishly dived in after him but all he could see was a blurry figure peering over the edge. In a matter of seconds, he felt something grab onto him and pull him out of the icy cold water. Jack coughed weakly as air finally reached his throat grateful that he wasn't drowning but it was so cold. So cold that he wanted nothing more than to sleep in the warm cocoon he was in._

"_Jack come on, come on. Don't you dare die on me." Jack heard Stephanie muttered as he felt her arms wrap around his shivering body. "You promised me you'd take me out of the village, to see Philadelphia. Don't you dare break that promise now!"_

"_So….cold." Jack muttered as his eyes fluttered for a moment before closing. It was so hard to stay awake. _

"_Hey Jack, Jackson. Listen to me. You need to stay awake alright? Come on you can do that for me can't you? If you stay awake until Emma comes back with help I'll give you a kiss alright? Just please stay awake."Stephanie cried, and Jack felt warm drops of water falling onto his face. He wanted nothing more than to open his eyes and tell her it was alright but he couldn't despite how much he wanted to respond to her._

"_Stephanie!" Jack could feel Stephanie's body move slightly as he heard his sister's voice calling out for her along with other men from the village. Emma must have gone to get help. "Stephanie!"_

"_Over here father!" Stephanie cried twisting her body just a bit probably just to get a better look. However, the small movement was all the ice needed to crack even further. Jack heard Stephanie cry out in surprise as he was once again welcomed by the icy waters only this time he brought company._

_End memory_

"Or what?" Pitch growled as he gripped Stephanie's throat even tighter as he landed in the streets. Pitch looked around, frowning as his nightmares he dispatched earlier were nearly gone. The children's belief made the guardians stronger than he expected. No matter, if they see Stephanie now, they would surely start giving into fear especially if they see that none of the guardians can do anything. The nightmare king smirked as he saw the children finally catch up to the guardians and gasp out in fear.

"Stephanie!" Jamie cried as he saw his baby sitter in the clutch of the nightmare king's hand. He raced forward, only to manage a couple of steps before a furry paw stopped him. "Bunny please! We have to help Steph!" He cried as her looked at Stephanie's face as she gasped for air. "Please!"

"J-ja-mie!" "Stephanie" gasped out as she "tried" to pry off the dark spirit's hand from her throat. She could easily get out of the spirit's grasp and finish this battle once and for all, but the other guardians didn't know that the real Stephanie wasn't in control of this body. As much as she wanted to tell them the truth she couldn't, not with Chaos still lurking around trying to find her. She was vulnerable…no Stephanie was still vulnerable to Chaos attack so if he knew that she was inside of Stephanie…she wasn't sure she could stop the dark spirit. She would have to do what she did best then in order to get out of this mess.

"It'll be alright—believe me. Everything will turn out fine. The guardians won't let anything bad happen. Believe in them. Believe." Stephanie choked out as Pitch began closing her airways. If she could get Jamie to believe enough then everything would be alright.

Jamie looked hopelessly at Stephanie's face but despite how hopeless the situation seemed, he choose to listen to her words and believed. After all she was the one who helped him believe in the guardians. She was the one who always did her best trying to look after her, making sure that he and Sophie were happy and she never lied to them ever. If this was the way to save her, then he would believe in the guardians until he died.

"Believe in what Stephanie? The guardians won't save you or anyone else for that matter. They're finished!" Pitch growled but he was surprised as Stephanie gave out a short choked chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"Just a bit of golden sand that's all." She gasped, still smirking as more golden sand appeared around them. The kids all gasped in delight as dolphins, butterflies, and fishes swam around them, forgetting all about their fears. Soon the golden animals quickly attacked the rest of the remaining nightmares and circled around Pitch and Stephanie.

"Golden sand?" Jack muttered as he touched one of the golden creatures as it flew near him. "Sandman?"

"What do you mean—" Out of the blue, a golden sand whip wrapped itself around Pitch's hand, forcing him to let go of Stephanie. Before he could even try to get Stephanie back, the whip pulled on him harder and next thing the nightmare king knew, he was staring right into a golden sand vortex where Sandman calmly stepped out of.

Meanwhile, Jack immediately rushed to Stephanie's side once Pitch released her and carefully helped her stand as she coughed air back into her lungs as the other guardians went for Pitch.

"Stephanie! Are you alright—" Jack paused in mid sentence as he looked into Stephanie's eye realizing they were much different than before. "You're…you're not Stephanie." "Stephanie" smiled softly at Jack as he glared daggers at her.

"At ease young spirit. I have caused no harm to Stephanie, nor do I plan to."

"And why should I believe in you? How do I know that you're not a nightmare in disguised as Stephanie?" Jack growled. "Stephanie" chuckled weakly, her throat rather sore from Pitch's chokehold, before she looked at Jack's eyes.

"Then you would be dead on the spot. Listen my time is short. You must protect Stephanie at all costs." "Stephanie" rasped out, her eyes suddenly hardening as her tone became serious.

"Wait what do you—"

"There is more to this fight young one. A fight between ancient spirits that you cannot hope to fight on your own." "Stephanie" coughed out as Jack held onto her, holding onto her every word. "And sadly Stephanie is in the center of this all. Protect her especially when she turns eighteen, she will be very vulnerable."

"Hold on you haven't told me who you are—"

"Just protect Stephanie…" "Stephanie" muttered slowly as she closed her eyes, surrendering herself to sleep. She had used quite a lot of energy today, bringing back Sandman took her toll on her but it was worth it. Besides, if she was right they would need every single one of the original guardians to help fight one of the oldest and most powerful spirits of all times….Chaos.

_I can only hope that Jack will keep his promise¸ _She thought as she passed the true Stephanie in the mind set, letting her take back control of her body, _She needs protection now more than ever._

* * *

_**Stephanie's POV**_

"—anie, Stephanie! Wake up! Can you hear me?" Jack's voiced echoed in my ears as I began to regain consciousness. "Steph!"

"Five more minutes." I groaned as I tried making myself comfortable only, to hiss in pain as I twisted my suddenly sore stomach. "Ok that wasn't there yesterday." I groaned as I slowly cracked open my eyes.

"That's because you took several nightmare hits. Which is amazing considering how fragile you humans are." Jack chuckled as he carefully wrapped his arm around my waist careful not to put any pressure. "You ok?"

"I think so…" I groaned as I tried to wake myself up even more, "Wait nightmares? Wasn't I with Pitch…how did I get here?"I asked looking at Jack's eyes tiredly. I honestly couldn't remember anything besides Pitch holding me up high into the air after Jack raced to save Jamie and his friends, it's like I blacked out….wait Jamie!

"Jamie, is he—"

"I'm fine Steph." Jamie giggled as he as the rest of his friends raced towards Jack and I before his face turned somber. "Are you ok? Your neck is turning purple." Unconsciously, I placed a hand on my neck, wincing a bit as I felt my neck throbbing in pain.

_That's going to leave a very nasty bruise._

"Steph, Steph, Steph!" Sophie laughed as she raced towards me. "Steph!"

"Hi Sophie, I'm glad—Mother of a half troll!" I hissed as Sophie barreled towards me, hugging my stomach tightly causing me to feel the pain of the nightmare attack. "Ah Sophie can you let go? You're hugging me a bit too hard" I groaned painfully as I carefully peeled the girl's arm off.

"But hugs make feel better."Sophie pouted, I chuckled weakly as Jamie carefully pulled Sophie away.

"They do but I'm a bit sore that's all." I laughed softly before noticing Pitch coming towards us, staggering weakly. Before I could warn Jack about him, one of Jamie's friend's, Claude I believe—I can never really remember them all—suddenly began a snowball fight, and next thing I knew, Jamie ran though Pitch, completely unaware of the dark spirit as he laughed with his friends.

My heart broke as I saw Pitch's shocked face, pained as none of the children who had had seen him minutes ago completely forgot about him. Behind him, I could see the guardians looking at Pitch with sympathy as well.

"Pitch—"

"No…it wasn't supposed to be like this, no!" Pitch growled out weakly as he staggered away and began running away towards the woods. I tried calling out to him again, before wincing in pain once more, gasping for breath this time.

_Could I have a punctured a lung? No that's not possible, still it's does hurt a bit. I'll check it after all of this has died down._ I thought as I staggered after Pitch, seeing that the guardians plus Jack went after him.

"Are you sure you're fine Steph?" Jamie asked as he jogged alongside me, his friends and Sophie right behind him.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad." I grunted as I maneuvered myself through the uneven ground. Fallen logs, thick snow, and small pot holes made this trip more troublesome than it normally was.

"It can't be my fear, I'm not afraid." I heard North chuckle lightly up ahead. As the sun began rising I could faintly see the path we were walking on and I smiled softly to myself as I recognized the path. We were heading to the same pond where Jack taught me how to ice skate…and where I nearly died as well.

_But what did North mean by fear? Is it the nightmares?_ I thought as I could faintly see the guardians and Pitch standing out on the frozen pond, several nightmares standing at the edge. I looked back to see if any of the kids could see them, but they seemed oblivious to the pitch black sand creatures.

Then in a blink of an eye the nightmares charged at Pitch, who tried to escape their gasp, and pulled him deeper into the forest. I could faintly hear Pitch's terrified screams and once again my heart ached for the dark and misunderstood spirit. All he wanted was to be seen, to be believed in but…he just didn't know how to go about it or rather people were just too frighten of him. Either way, Pitch….despite all he had done really didn't deserve this ending. It just seemed to cruel.

We finally reached the pond and each of the children ran up to the guardians, smiling happily and laughing, especially Jamie as he ran up to Jack.

"They see you." I whispered happily as I could see Jack's joyful face as each of the children smiled AT him. Just as I was about to join him, I could see from the corner of my eye a stray nightmare standing off in the distance, looking at me with intense red eyes….wait red?

_Pitch's nightmares never had red eyes,_ I thought as I stared at the abnormal nightmare, pulled into its stare,_ What kind of nightmare is this?_

"Steph, you ok?" Jack suddenly asked, pulling my gaze away from the nightmare.

"Huh, yeah I just—" I looked back to where I saw the nightmare and to my surprise, there was no trace of it whatsoever. "…Lost in thought." I whispered in disbelief.

_Did I just imagine things or did I really see a darker nightmare?_

"Wait Stephanie…is that blood?" Jamie asked suddenly pointing to my arm, his eyes wide and frightened.

"Blood? What do you—" I reached up to my arm where Jamie pointed to and to my surprise I could feel the sleeve of my shirt wet with a thick layer of blood. I pulled my hand away and I nearly fainted at how dark the blood looked on my hand.

_Oh yeah…I got hit by Pitch's arrow…..this…could be…..a….problem._ I thought as I looked up to Jack's frighten face before I felt a furry set of hands gently lifting me bridal style.

"We should get you fixed up shelia" Bunny, said as he gently hopped to North's sleigh parked in the middle of the pond. How the heck did the pond not crack under this weight?

"I'm fine." I muttered trying to downplay the severity of the wound in order for the kids not to get frighten but I felt too weak to really fight the Easter spirit verbally. With my adrenaline rush finally over, I could finally feel the effects of the fight. My arm was throbbing painfully—not to mention wet with blood—my stomach felt really sore as well as my chest, I was having a hard time breathing and it hurt to move too much.

"Damn it.." I muttered softly as I felt the darkness pulling me in again, "I….missed…..dinner." I moaned, before the darkness embraced me once again.

* * *

_**Third POV**_

The nightmare, watched the guardians quickly take the human into the sleigh before reassuring the kids that she could be taken care of as the Northern spirit ushered the reindeers to fly off. Said nightmare hissed as the reindeer flew out of sight; he never liked those creatures. However, it was not the time to sit around and hiss at creatures he despised, he had to bring back the important information back to his master.

With a screeching neigh, the nightmare quickly sprung out from its hiding place and galloped further into the forest where no man dared to venture on his own. His master ruled this part of the forest and made sure that no man lived to tell the tale. The nightmare continued to run through the forest, not bothering to stop as it passed several human remains hidden by the thick forest grass or bushes. The trees were huddled closely together causing little sunlight to reach the forest floor and the mysterious fog that master put up made it all the more weary.

The nightmare finally came to a stop as it reached a dark cave that seemingly appeared out of thin air before trotting slowly inside. The cave wasn't that different to the so called nightmare king's layer. There were twists and turns, stairs that disappeared into nothingness, shadows looming in every corner but instead of bird cages, chains hugs from the ceiling, some with bones still attached to them. And the floor, just as the forest were littered with humans remains, so was Master's cave except weapons laid with the remains as well. Shields from just about every country, empire, kingdom, clan laid scattered across the floor along with swords, lances, spears, clubs, spikes, maces, axes. However, there was no bow or arrow in sight, master made sure to burn all of those up.

The nightmare continued to trot through the dark cavern before it reached an alter where a set of chains hung freely above a dark figure.

"I take it you have some information for me then?" The figure asked without turning around and the nightmare neighed loudly before exploding into a trail of dark sand heading straight for the figure. The figure stood there was the black sand swirled in front of him before eventually projecting an image of a girl with croppy pitch black hair and striking blue eyes that looked straight back at him.

"At least Pitch was good for something." The figure chuckled as the sand stopped swirling and reformed back into the nightmare. "He managed to tag her with my sand which will make the progress go much faster. It seems I must repay him for doing his job in the end even though he proved to me that he can't really handle the power of the nightmares. Pity, I really would have liked a second in command." The figure quickly turned around and walked briskly down the steps, his nightmare closely following. "On second thought, no I wouldn't like a second in command, you can never really count on others to do your job."

"Really? They why did you summon us?" A female voice echoed throughout the cave before a feminine figure stepped out in front of the nightmare and his master. The nightmare neighed warningly before the figure placed a hand on the nightmare's snout, calming it.

"Because Lust, you seven are the only ones I CAN trust." The figure shrugged before continuing to walk. "You've been with me since the creation of that damn spirit and I feel it would be fitting if we took her down once and for all….together."

"You men can never lie properly" Lust sneered back as she stepped into the few dim lights in the cave, illuminating her face barely. Her thick wave locks, her bright red lips and seductive gaze could have any men fall for her in an instance and this was only her face. "You just want to us to train the new recruits so you don't have to deal with them."

"That too."

"But where are you going?" Lust asked as the figure walked towards one of the few tunnels that lead up to the world above. "You never leave the cave—"

"Our time is nearing and my part to play has come." The nightmare stepped a couple steps back as his master began changing. He began shrinking before finally settling into a comfortable height of 5 foot 7, his hair changed into a dirty blonde and his eyes turned into an emerald green. His outfit changed as well, he now sported dark blue jeans with red and black skater shoes, a body tight red shirt with the word and symbol chaos in black on the front, and a black jacket.

"How do I look?" The spirit asked as he turned around, modeling to Lust. Lust placed her fingers on her chin and licked her lips.

"Absolutely delicious. Pity you're wasting your looks on the pathetic girl; she won't even know what hit her." Lust chuckled before retreating back to the shadows, "Shall I gather the others then?" Lust asked as the spirit lifted his hood so that it covered his blonde hair.

"Yes, the time is near. I want everything to be ready for her arrival, I plan for….excruciating pain for her." The spirit chuckled evilly as his eyes gazed upon the chains above the alter before entering his tunnel and disappearing from sight.

In less than a second he reappeared only this time he was above ground and in an alley way; the same alley way which Pitch took Stephanie from.

"This time for sure." The dark spirit muttered darkly as black sand rand up his arm and settled down on his jacket, creating a rather unique design. "This time I will have my revenge and nothing will stop me." Said figure looked up into the sky and frowned at the sight of the moon.

"Are you ready Man in Moon for my time has come and there will be nothing your precious guardians can do to stop me. For I go against everything your servants stand for. Where there is peace, I come and destroy; when there is hope, I obliterate it; and when there is war, I am there for I am Chaos, the harbinger of destruction." Chaos chuckled darkly as his eyes momentarily turned blood red before reverting back to the transformed blue color. "And I'm done waiting in the shadows." Without missing a beat Chaos stepped out of the alley, smirking as he saw Stephanie's bag and hat on the floor.

"Stephanie Jones, this time you won't escaped my grasp."

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter. Sorry it's so blah, I just tried to make it flow but I felt it didn't do a great job at that. And if you're confused about the memories, sorry but you'll still be more confused well until everything is revealed later. There's gonna be a lost more memories in the next couple of chapters. And sorry it took so long to write this out. I just yeah, OTL.**

**And sorry if there's grammar mistakes. My beta has more of a life than me and couldn't beta this chapter this time so it was just me this time. Sorry ^^**

**And please feel free to review, favorite, alert. It really means the world to me and some feedback would be really. Nice. Until next time.**

**-Midnightmich**


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